The Illinois General Assembly recently passed a bill to give transgender people more say in planning their funerals. But what is legally and financially involved in identifying with a gender not assigned at birth up until that point?
Caitlyn Jenner's transition from male to female made headlines and magazine covers and was met with praise and criticism. Her transition came after she had a career as a male Olympian and in reality T.V., which gave her more access to funds so she could complete her transition.
Molly Holmes, the director for Northern Illinois University's Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, says the financial means Jenner has could make the transition process look deceivingly quick in the eyes of the public.
"That's not the story of a majority of trans people," Holmes said.
Holmes says, for one, transition is expensive. In DeKalb County, for example, the name-changing process alone costs about $200. Fee waivers may be available under some circumstances.
"Because you can't go and say, 'I want my legal transition done, please,'" Holmes said. "You have to do it. You have to...name change, gender marker, passport, birth certificate, social security card...they're all different processes, and one helps the other."
In Illinois, residents are able to change gender markers on birth certificates. That's not the case in all states.
"Like a state, for example, such as Idaho, you cannot," Holmes said. "If you were born in Idaho -- and there's a few others -- but if you were born in Idaho, you can never change your gender marker."
Not only does it cost money and time to legally change your name and gender marker, but medical costs can add up, too. Hormonal replacement therapy and genital reconstructive surgery are necessary for those who want to transition legally.
Elvia Arriola, who is a law professor at NIU who specializes in broad legal scenarios for transgender people, says a friend who transitioned from male to female faced a financial burden after she was laid off from her job. Her friend ended up selling her house and used the profits to finance a $15,000 surgery in Thailand, as opposed to one that would cost $150,000 in the U.S.
"It is all really, truly dependent on what you have available in terms of the services in this country," Arriola said.
Before a gender marker change can be made on any identification documents, a report and statement from a psychiatrist or physician is required, along with any other proof the patient is undergoing or already completed a medical transition. Holmes says that could be discouraging for some people, since most of those medical costs might be paid out-of-pocket.
"Surgery's very invasive -- not everyone wants to go under the knife just in general," Holmes said. "Some people feel that they don't need to undergo surgery to feel the gender of which they identify."
But for those who do, the total financial cost for transitioning, including medical and legal fees, could be anywhere from $19,000 to $176,000. That would require steady income, but even that might be a problem.
"One thing that I hear quite a bit is that students will apply for a job, and they get called in for an interview, and then the interviewer says, 'Oh, well, you're not who I expected,' or 'You're not what I expected,'" Holmes said.
About half of all transgender people report employment discrimination because of their identity.