Nov 16 2008
What Gay Marriage Means Legally
On Saturday, November 15th, I participated in a nation wide rally in opposition to the recent ban on gay marriage in California (Proposition 8). The wonderful organization responsible for the rally is called “The Impact” and here is their website. http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/
Because many people are not aware of what the legal implications of gay marriage actually are, I thought I would break it down for you-Layman’s terms. Here we go:
Straight, married, couples have these basic rights:
TAX RIGHTS
1. Ability to file joint income tax returns with the IRS and state taxing authorities.
2. Creating a “family partnership” under federal tax laws, which allows you to divide business income among family members.
3. Inheriting a share of your spouse’s estate.
4. Receiving an exemption from both estate taxes and gift taxes for all property you give or leave to your spouse.
ESTATE PLANNING BENEFITS
5. Creating life estate trusts that are restricted to married couples including QTIP trusts, QDOT trusts, and marital deduction trusts.
GOVERNMENT BENEFITS
6. Receiving Social Security, Medicare, and disability benefits for spouses.
7. Receiving veterans’ and military benefits for spouses, such as those for education, medical care, or special loans.
8. Receiving public assistance benefits.
EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
9. Obtaining insurance benefits through a spouse’s employer.
10. Taking family leave to care for your spouse during an illness.
11. Receiving wages, worker’s compensation, and retirement plan benefits for a deceased spouse.
12. Taking bereavement leave if your spouse or one of your spouse’s close relatives dies.
MEDICAL BENEFITS
13. Visiting your spouse in an intensive care unit or during restricted business hours in other parts of a medical facility.
14. Making medical decisions for your spouse if he or she becomes incapacitated and unable to express wishes for treatment.
DEATH BENEFITS
15. Consenting to after-death examinations and procedures.
16. Making burial or other financial arrangements.
FAMILY BENEFITS
17. Filing for step-parent or joint adoption.
18. Applying for joint foster care rights.
19. Receiving equitable division of property if your divorce.
20. Receiving spousal or child support, child custody, and visitation if you divorce.
HOUSING BENEFITS
21. Living in neighborhoods “zoned” for families only.
22. Automatically renewing leases signed by your spouse.
CONSUMER BENEFITS
23. Receiving family rates for health, auto, homeowners’, and other types of insurance.
24. Receiving tuition discounts and permission to use school facilities.
25. Other consumer discounts and incentives offered only to married couples or families.
OTHER LEGAL BENEFITS AND PROTECTIONS
26. Suing a third person for wrongful death of your spouse and lose of consortium (loss of intimacy).
27. Suing a third person for offenses that interfere with the success of your marriage, such as alienation of affection and criminal conversation (these laws only apply in a few states).
28. Claiming the marital communications privilege, which means a court can’t force you to disclose the contents of confidential conversations between you and your spouse.
29. Receiving crime victims’ recovery benefits if your spouse is the victim of a crime.
30. Obtaining immigration and residency benefits for non-citizen spouse.
31. Visiting rights in jail or other places where visitors are restricted to immediate family.
These or just a few of the legal rights that straight couples have in the United States. Gay couples that are legally married in Massachusetts DO NOT have all of these rights. The state of Massachusetts legally recognizes their marriage, but the federal government does not. That means that they cannot file a joint federal income tax return and they cannot get Social Security benefits for their spouse or any other federal benefit for that matter. Same sex couples married in states that allow “civil unions” reap even fewer benefits.
I strongly encourage all of you to find out who your legislators are and tell them that you want gay marriage to be legal. Under the constitution, all men and women are created equal. All of us deserve to marry whomever we choose!
Let’s say that you are not LGBT and you do not know anyone that is. The law doesn’t directly affect you, so you don’t care. I challenge you to put yourself into the shoes of an LGBT couple. If you are married, think of your spouse. Imagine what it would be like if he or she was seriously injured and you were not permitted to see him or her in the hospital. Or how about if he or she was the main bread-winner in your home and was killed in an accident, leaving you with no money and no SS benefits. Or suppose that the house and property were in your deceased partner’s name and you lost everything! This is serious and important! Support love!
