A Harris County jury on Thursday ruled that Jack Maniscalco had no legal or equitable claim to his stepfather Gene Womack’s $1 million estate, despite the 1980 will’s reference to him as “my child.” The verdict followed Womack’s 2020 death and the stepson’s attempt to invoke informal adoption.
Gene Womack, a former Texas resident, had never filed a formal adoption for Jack, and the will expressly limited inheritance to “my child, Jack Madison Maniscalco Jr., and any other child or children legally adopted by me.” The court held that affectionate language alone does not satisfy Texas’s stringent adoption criteria, which require a formal, enforceable agreement and the termination of the biological father’s rights.
During the four‑day trial, witnesses testified that Womack had supported Jack and used paternal terms, yet the jury found these actions insufficient. The judge noted that the absence of a notarized adoption document and the lack of termination of fatherial rights meant the claim lacked legal standing.
The Texas First Court of Appeals confirmed the jury’s decision on Monday, affirming that no informal adoption had occurred. The ruling leaves the estate to be distributed according to the will’s original provisions and to the heirs named therein.