Yesterday, California voters passed Proposition 8, which amends the California Constitution to limit marriage to a union between a man and a woman. What does this mean going forward? Here are some observations:
All Previous Same-Sex Marriages Are Still Valid
All same-sex weddings performed between the California Supreme Court's decision in In re Marriage Cases (2008) 43 Cal. 4th 757, on May 15, 2008, and midnight, November 3, 2008 will remain valid. California Attorney General Jerry Brown said yesterday that, because Proposition 8 was not retroactive, it will not apply to same-sex couples who got married in California before Election Day. Attorney General Brown also said that the State of California would defend the validity of the marriages if they are challenged.
Estate Planning is Unchanged
As I have previously posted, most estate planning tools are developed to deal with federal law, particularly federal tax law. The federal Defense of Marriage Act (or DOMA, 1 USC sec. 7) was passed by Congress in 1996 and essentially prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage. This means that even legally married same-sex couples cannot take advantage of federal tax laws including unlimited tax-free transfers between spouses, joint filing of tax returns, etc.
From an estate planning prospective, this means that, legal same sex marriage or not, special estate planning is needed for same-sex couples to get around the restrictions of DOMA.
Registered Domestic Partnerships are Unaffected
The text of the amendment, which is only one sentence long, refers only to marriage. Same-sex couples can still register as domestic partners in California. Under California law, registered domestic partners are given all the same rights and duties (including community property and California tax filing) as married couples.
Conclusion
Legally, at least, life goes on pretty much as it did before. Symbolically, it's quite a different story.
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2 comments:
Thank you for sharing. Navigating your way through intricate financial and real estate assets can be daunting for even the most knowledgeable people. Your best bet is to rely on a professional estate lawyer for the management of your estate's assets.
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Hi there! glad to drop by your page and found these very interesting and informative stuff. Thanks for sharing, keep it up!
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