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Advising Same-Sex Married Couples: Estate Planning Pitfalls and Opportunities Revealed

September 22, 2011

In this month’s article, Patricia
discusses the estate planning and tax challenges faced by those in a same-sex
marriage. While same-sex marriage is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia, couples should work with
their estate planning attorney or CPA to ensure that their plans are in place
and up to date.

If couples have existing estate
planning documents created before they were married, they need to be “immediately
updated and/or ratified, because in many states, a subsequent marriage revokes
a will in its entirety … meaning the spouse could be inadvertently
disinherited.”

Tax issues for same-sex married
couples are “tricky,” due to the existing federal “Defense of Marriage Act of 1996
(DOMA).” Because of DOMA, filing federal tax returns can be complicated, and issues
around Social Security, life insurance, and retirement planning assets should
be discussed and reviewed with an estate planning professional to ensure that
your spouse is properly taken care of and your goals and wishes are met.

Click here to read
the complete article, which explains in further detail how important it is for
same-sex couples to seek the advice and counsel of a personal financial
specialist, CPA, or estate planning attorney.

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