Estate and Succession Planning
Dean Mead’s Estate and Succession Planning Department is one of the largest and most respected groups of estate planning attorneys in Florida. We are frequently…
This morning, the United States Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion on same-sex marriage (read the full opinion here). In Obergefell v. Hodges, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the United States Supreme Court held that under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: (1) states are required to recognize same-sex marriages lawfully performed in another state; and (2) states are required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. For more background, please see our prior discussion here. This ruling in Florida brings closure to the federal and state court decisions overturning Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage. As a result, Florida must recognize same-sex marriages lawfully performed elsewhere. Furthermore, Florida must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Now that the United States Supreme Court has established that same-sex marriage is a right granted to United States citizens, same-sex couples are treated the same as any other married couple. These couples need to analyze their estate plans and reconsider their estate planning needs now that the uncertainty over their marital relationship has been resolved. Furthermore, they need to examine their property ownership and other business relationships to determine if their existing plans, established prior to the full recognition of their marriage, should be revised (usually to make matters simpler for those involved).
