Why Those In The LGBT Community Need An Estate Plan


Gay and lesbian couples have 1138 fewer rights under the law than their heterosexual counterparts — even if those gay people are married or in unions that are recognized by some states.

As a member of the LGBT community, I am committed that all people experience equal rights under the law.  Until that time arrives, we are on a mission to ensure that each and every gay person has an estate plan.

Why?  Because according to the National Center for Lesbian Rights, “if you are LGBT, you must be proactive to protect yourself and your loved ones as you age, because the law does not provide you the same safety net that it does for non-LGBT people. There are concrete steps that you can take to build your own safety net.

What are those “concrete steps that you can take?”  Creating an estate plan to mimic the laws afforded to heterosexual couples.

There are various legal rights that heterosexual couples take for granted – they see them as simply their just due under the law – but those same rights are denied members of the LGBT community who are in committed partnerships.  Those rights include, but are not limited to, the right to make medical decisions when loved ones can’t, the right to inherit property of a spouse, the ability to handle financial matters when a partner is incapacitated, and the right to raise the couple’s children.  Only in April, 2010, did Obama sign into law legislation that allows an LGBT person to visit their partner in the hospital.

In my opinion, estate planning for gay and lesbian partners is far more important than it is for legally married couples, which is why I chose to dedicate myself to this specialty of law practice.

In a detailed report dated January 23, 2004, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) outlines individually the wide variety of federal laws in which marital status is a factor.

The GAO – which is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress – has written two detailed reports on the impact of 1996’s Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA); both reports identify federal statutory provisions in which rights, benefits and privileges are contingent upon marital status. The GAO’s 1997 report identified 1,049 of these rights, benefits and privileges, whereas their 2004 report identified 1,138 of them.

Due to DOMA – which states that the federal government’s definition of marriage is a legal union exclusively between one man and one woman – gays and lesbians are not afforded those same legal rights, benefits and privileges as their straight, married counterparts.

The GAO’s report lists, item-by-item, the legal rights which are specifically denied to members of the LGBT community; the rights, benefits and privileges are varied and range from items such areas of concern as Child and Family Services, Medicare and Community Programs on Aging, to Family Violence Prevention and Service, Income Taxes and Veterans Benefits.

To read the complete 18-page report, which outlines each of the denied rights specifically, either visit the Government Accountability Office’s website: http://www.gao.gov.

Joel J. Loquvam

Attorney at Law