Estate Planning Practice Blog

Same Sex Marriage Primer

Marriage involving a same sex couple is now legal in California. There have been many questions as to how this is handled. Please click here to open up a question and answer sheet prepared by a coalition of agencies interested in these issues.

Remember any relationship should involve asking threshold questions about estate planning too.

You always want to have the appropriate documents in place to answer the question -- what happens when I die? It does not matter who you are... everyone needs to be protected and to have things in place for their loved ones.

If you click on the attachment, please note that it is being provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement by Tredway, Lumsdaine & Doyle LLP on any related issues.

Legal Developments for Same Sex Couples.

The American Bar Association has many divisions. One of their divisions is the General Practice, Solo Division.

Their last newsletter contains many useful articles that are of interest to same sex couples and domestic partners as it relates to:

1.  Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples by Joan M. Burda

2.  Tax Issues Affecting Same-Sex Couples by Tamara E. Kolz

3. Domestic Partnership AgreementsBy Laurie Kadair Redman

New Cal Tax Law Gives Equal Treatment to Domestic Partners.

Here's a piece of useful information about registered domestic partners and their tax filing status:

[Remember that registered domestic partners in California can either be a committed same sex couple or a committed opposite sex couple where one partner is 62 years or older.]

California State Controller and Franchise Tax Board (FTB) Chair Steve Westly announced new changes in California tax law ( L. 2006, S1827 (c. 802), eff. 01/01/2007) that gives registered domestic partners the same tax filing status as married couples, starting with tax year 2007. Click here for the press release.

Under current state and federal law, domestic partners use the single or head of household filing status.  (California FTB News Release PR06:061, 10/24/2006.)

“California has recognized domestic partnerships since 2003, but State tax laws have not,” Controller Westly said. “This new law will ensure that domestic partners are given fair treatment by getting the same filing status as their married counterparts.” L. 2006, S1827 (c. 802), eff. 01/01/2007 allows registered domestic partners to file their state tax returns using either the “married filing jointly” status or “married filing separate.”

The new law takes effect for tax year 2007, which taxpayers will begin filing in January 2008, and does not impact federal tax law.

Hospital Visitation Authorization -- a Must for California Partners.

If you are not married to your significant other or are in a same sex relationship, you should consider having a Hospital Visitation Authorization.

This is because many hospitals permit only family members to visit their loved ones in a hospital.  Certainly some hospitals enforce this more strictly than others, it is wise to have a Visitation Authorization in place.

Thus, to ensure that you and your partner are able to visit each other during a hospital stay, both partners should execute a Hospital Visitation Authorization.

I recommend that my unmarried clients have one available in case they need to show it to hospital personnel before being allowed to visit your significant other.