First, to qualify for benefits you need be married. We shall see if the regulations that are finalized recognize a New Jersey Civil Union as a marriage or not. Same-sex married couples will now be able to:
- Claim the marital deduction for gift and estate tax planning;
- QPRT (Qualified Personal Resident Trust) planning for the surviving same-sex spouse and children becomes an interesting option;
- Spouses named as beneficiaries on qualified plans (IRAs, 401ks, Roths, 403bs, etc.) will have the option to roll the plan into a “Spousal IRA” deferring income taxes;
- The surviving spouse can elect portability of the deceased spouse’s unused estate tax exclusion;
- Calculating the basis of the surviving spouse’s jointly held property becomes much more simple;
- Formation of non-reciprocal irrevocable trusts for asset protection and estate tax planning becomes more manageable;
- Now same-sex couples can gift split for gift tax purposes;
- The surviving spouse will have access to Social Security, Medicare ad Medicaid benefits that once only applied to heterosexual married couples; and
- There will be more! It will be fascinating to watch the changes that will be taking place over the next year.