Marital status has wide-ranging implications when it comes to estate planning, from tax filing to gifting, medical and financial powers-of-attorney to titles and properties, guardianships and adoptions to marital/cohabitation agreements.
With so much on the line, it’s no wonder that the changing landscape of marriage (and, indeed, the evolving definition of the word itself) has caused as much confusion as joy for non-traditional couples beginning a new life together.
As of the writing of this Blog post, 17 states recognize same-sex marriage, several others have legal domestic partnerships and civil unions, and the laws across states vary greatly. The pace of policy change (and occasional reversals!) in the last 18 months is dizzying; by the time you read this, the statistics in this paragraph may very well be obsolete.
As a result, some of the oddest circumstances can arise.
What if a legally married, same-sex, bisexual female couple moves to Utah, where same-sex marriages are not recognized? What if some time later, they split up, and one falls in love with and wants to marry a man? How can she divorce her wife when her marriage wasn’t recognized in Utah in the first place? How can she wed the man she wants to now marry?
Adoption rules for non-traditional couples also differ from state to state. If members of a same-sex couple are both allowed by their state to be recognized as parents of their adopted child, the estate/guardianship plan will be drafted as such; in a state where same-sex parents aren’t recognized, their plan would be entirely different. And now consider if they had to move from one state to the other!
The moral of the story: don’t try this yourself at home! We recommend working with specialists in the field. A good resource online is PridePlanners.com. You may also call us and we can help point you in the right direction.
Disclaimer: The Wealth Conservancy, Inc. does not provide legal, accounting or tax advice. You should consult with your independent professional advisors about such matters.