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At Last! Legal Gay Marriage States are Nationwide

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Out Estate Planning, Supreme Court Gay Marriage Ruling, James Lange“Today, we can say in no uncertain terms that we have made our union a little more perfect.” – President Obama from the White House, June 26, 2015.

In a historic 5-4 vote today, The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a ruling making gay marriage states legal nationwide. The day does not appear to be happenstance, either. On June 26, 2003 SCOTUS struck down the sodomy laws, in June 26, 2013 SCOTUS struck down DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act), and today Justice Kennedy joined by Justices Ginsberg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan delivered a beautifully human, and well thought out opinion for the majority ending states abilities to ban gay marriage.

Here is an excerpt from that groundbreaking opinion:

“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their pleas is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The constitution grants them that right.”

It is so ordered.

While this is a huge coup for human and civil rights, many people do not realize the huge potential for LGBT couples to now gain the financial equality they have long been denied.

Our very own Jim Lange, has been talking about this potential financial equality for years, and advising his LGBT clients to take advantage of the opportunities that become available to them when marriage is a possibility.

His newest book on the subject, Live Gay, Retire Rich! is available for pre-order now at Amazon.com – http://amzn.to/1LAIbAY.

Same-Sex Couples Nearing Retirement: Get Married

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If you're a same-sex couple in a long term committed relationship and are nearing retirement, get married.

Yalman Onaran of Bloomberg News discussed this issue with James Lange of the Lange Financial Group, LLC and had this to say:

“That's the simple advice that emerges from a new book by James Lange, a certified public accountant and attorney who specializes in retirement and estate planning. Of course love and feelings should dictate your decision first, but if you're looking at the financial side of things, then the balance has shifted in favor of marriage since the Supreme Court decision a year ago abolishing the Defense of Marriage Act, Lange argues.”

The chart below shows why marriage would benefit an aging same-sex couple.  A gay or lesbian couple could have higher Social Security benefits, more room to shelter income in IRAs all while avoiding inheritance taxes. 

Same-Sex, Gay, Lesbian, LGBT Couples Nearing Retirement - Get Married

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this article Yalman Onaran touches on some of the caveats to same-sex marriage for financial reasons including whether you live in a state that still doesn’t recognize gay marriage as well as how far you and your partner are from retirement.  He shares his own experience with marriage and the financial benefits that resulted from getting married and how the landscape has changed post the repeal of DOMA.

To read the rest of this article in Bloomberg News, please click on the link below.

Click this link to read the article

Source: Yalman Onaran, Bloomberg News