All Federal Benefits Apply To Same-Sex Marriages

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which, for federal purposes, defined marriage as between one man and one woman. United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ____ (2013). This decision has major implications for estate planning for same-sex couples who marry. As an example, same-sex couples are now entitled to pass their estates to their surviving spouse and qualify for the marital deduction for federal estate tax purposes. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Revenue Ruling 2013-17 providing guidance to same-sex couples as a result of the Supreme Court's ruling. In the Revenue Ruling, the IRS announced its "State of Celebration" rule, which provides that it will recognize the validity of a same-sex marriage for federal tax purposes so long as the couple's marriage took place in a state that recognizes same-sex marriages, regardless of whether the couple's state of residence recognizes the marriage. This ruling only applies to marriages and does not include domestic partnerships...