Estate planning for gay couples

LGBTQ = Different Needs

“This is an ambitious book laying out the broad outlines of where we’ve been, where we are, and where we are going. Scott’s practical assessments of how marriage changes rights and responsibilities are essential reading for everyone. Equally important are his reminders of sensible legal steps to take regardless of marriage.”

Mary L. Bonauto, Esq.
Civil Rights Project Director, Content , Boston, MA

“Whether to Wed is the primer every homosexual couple should study, whether they’re contemplating marriage, or if they’ve already tied the knot. Scott Squillace helps us understand the legal, tax and financial consequences of marriage—both the benefits and the challenges—in an objective, organized and easy-to-understand way.”

John McGowan
Senior Vice President, Northern Trust National Practice Leader for LGBT and Non-Traditional Family Practice

“Whether to Wed demystifies the complex laws that apply to identical sex couples, providing a timely, straightforward, and comprehensive mentor to use as they consider what’s best for their personal situations.”

David Williams
Intuit Chief Tax Officer and Executive Director of

5 wealth planning considerations for LGBTQ+ individuals and families
Even with marriage equality and other expanding legal protections, LGBTQ+ individuals and couples may encounter a range of issues distinct from those of the general population when it comes to wealth planning. Family dynamics, marital status and a desire to support the LGBTQ+ community can affect potential charitable and estate planning choices. Ensuring the estate plan accurately reflects one’s specific intentions may require close and frequent consultation with advisors and attorneys. And financial privacy, a priority for most wealthy individuals and families, may be especially important. Those and other factors may insert complexity to the process of craﬅing a flexible, effective estate plan. Here are five planning considerations to keep in mind.
Starting a family
Kim Stolz, a Confidential Client Advisor for Bank of America Private Bank and an active member of Bank of America’s LGBTQ+ executive council, knows firsthand the high costs for LGBTQ+ couples starting a family. “When my wife and I had our first child, we were using my egg, a sperm donor, and my wife carried the child,” Stolz says. “By the time we we

Key Considerations in Estate Planning for Homosexual Individuals and Couples
Following up on an advisory we published a year ago on LGBTQ+ Family Estate Planning (click here to read), and as many celebrate Pride Month during June, we offer this update on recent developments in state and federal laws that may have meaningful implications on estate planning strategies for LGBTQ+ individuals and couples.
First, by way of background, on June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized lgbtq+ marriage across the country in the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges. This decision made obvious that same-sex couples have the equal rights and benefits as opposite-sex couples under federal regulation, including the statute governing federal estate tax. This allowed for joint estate planning and estate tax benefits for same-sex couples. Many states and municipalities have enacted similar laws.
Other states, however, have introduced bills in recent years that would roll back existing protections in a style that could impact estate planning for LGBTQ+ people. For example, in 2020, Tennessee passed a law that allows businesses and organizations to deny service to LGBTQ+ people based on religious or moral o

Planning for Same-Sex Couples
Same-sex couples face unique estate planning. Since Obergefell v. Hodges, same-sex marriages have been legal in all fifty states. Living trusts are often the estate planning vehicle of choice for the gay community for a number of reasons.

1. They provide for your partner to be fit to handle your assets should you become disabled. Powers of attorney and health care proxies/living wills are ancillary documents that also help insure that your partner will be in charge of all legal, financial and medical decision-making in the event of disability, free of interference from other family members.

2. Will planning has fallen into disfavor because (a) wills are significantly easier to challenge than trusts (b) a perceive of the proceeding must be given to your closest legal heirs, providing them with an opportunity to object (c) the will is a common record, eliminating privacy, and (d) the legal process may be time consuming, possibly delaying the surviving partner's access to needed funds.

3. Simply putting your partner's name on your assets, or joint tenancy, seems to be a simple solution to many, until they learn of the pitfalls. First, for appr