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Same-Sex Marriage or Domestic Partnership

By Julia Frey.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued a decision in Obergefell vs. Hodges which held that States cannot keep same-sex couples from obtaining a license to marry and must recognize same-sex marriages from other states.  The law of the land is that same-sex couples can legally marry and be entitled to the protections, rights and obligations of any other lawfully wedded couple.   However, will this ruling result in same-sex couples being required to marry in order to keep benefits?  Many employers have provided for domestic partner benefits in the past, when same-sex marriages were not legal.  Now that same-sex marriage is permitted, will companies rescind domestic partner benefits and replace it with spousal rights?  Some large companies have already begun phasing out domestic partner benefits for same-sex partners, which means that one would have to marry to keep those benefits.  If you currently have domestic partner benefits you should check with your employer and see whether any changes are anticipated to those benefits. read more

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Same-sex couples now have options!

By:  Julia Frey

Before yesterday, when I prepared estate planning documents for same-sex couples there was a quagmire of issues that had to be addressed, since the State of Florida did not recognize same-sex marriages.  As of yesterday, all over the State of Florida, gay and lesbian couples have been able to be legally married in Florida.  What does this mean for a same-sex couple?  With marriage comes various legal rights and obligations, so you should meet with your estate planning attorney to discuss those issues.  If you already have an estate plan in place, and you get married, then you need to contact your estate plannning attorney to update your documents to reflect the new marital status.  If you don’t have a Will, Trust, or financial or health care power of attorney documents in place, you should now do so.  You should also have your attorney review with you how your assets are titled, and determine whether there is a better way to title assets to provide increased asset protection.  In short, this is great news, but after you get married take the next step and get your legal documents in order as well! read more

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IRS Provides Administrative Guidance to Employers in the Wake of Its Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage

By:  Amanda Wilson

Last month, the IRS announced that same-sex marriages would be recognized as marriages for federal tax purposes.  It is important to recognize that this position extends beyond individual income tax consequences and can impact employers as well. A number of income tax and employment tax provisions exclude from gross income and wages certain employee benefits provided to the spouse of an employee.  Before last month, the IRS took the position that benefits paid to same-sex spouses of employees did not qualify for these exclusion provisions.  The IRS has now changed its position and has stated that this change can be applied retroactively.  As a result, employers may find themselves in the situation of having overpaid employment taxes for employees that have a same-sex spouse.  The IRS has issued Notice 2013-61 to provide guidance to employers on how to deal with this situation.  Employers that have employees with same-sex spouses should be aware of this notice and consider how it may apply to them. read more