There is currently a legal battle in the federal courts regarding a Federal law mandating that marriage is between a man and a woman. EdiTh Windsor challenged the federal law in DOMA (Defense Of Marriage Act) as unconstitutional on equal protection grounds. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently held that Section 3 of DOMA that created this mandate was unconstitutional. She is skipping the Circuit Court, and has petitioned for the United States Supreme Court to hear and review the case. Many legal experts expect the court to take up the case for their October term.
This legal case is important for Constitutional Law, in that it may finally rule on if gay marriage is a constitutional right or the U.S. Constitutional sees homosexuals as a protected class. However, it has further implications in the estate planning legal realm.
When Edith Windsor’s partner and wife died, she left her entire estate to Windsor. But since the Federal government does not recognize under DOMA, Windsor owed $363,000 in Federal estate tax. If Edith’s wife had been a man, and they were a heterosexual couple, there would have been no Federal estate tax. Usually a married heterosexual couple does not incur any taxes because they can use the Federal estate tax exemption. In 2012, this was up to $5,000,000. The Federal estate tax exemption, however, does not apply to same-sex couples. To many people’s surprise, Edith has managed to win the first battle at the New York Federal district court. Now, the Supreme Court is more than likely going to hear the case this fall. President Obama and his administration has stated that they will not defend the law, and so the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group took the position to defend the law. The legal argument for DOMA and the case against Edith is that the representatives in Congress have Congressional decided that children should be raised by both a mother and a father. The legal argument against DOMA is that it is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process.
As this legal case develops, Skillern Law Firm will continue to write about this important legal case. If you are a same-sex couple in Oklahoma, and you need your estate planning done, please feel free to call for a free consultation. We would love to help you. For more information on why estate planning is especially important for same-sex couples living in Oklahoma, please see our post Estate Planning for Everyone.
See Manuel Roig-Franzia, Edith Windsor’s Fight For Same-Sex Marriage Rights Continues, Even After Partner’s Death, Washington Post, July 19, 2012.
