Yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the changes that gay spouses in California can expect to see when it comes to estate planning as a result can be succinctly summed up in the words of one of the state’s most prominent LGBT activists, actor George Takei: Oh Myyy!
As a result of yesterday’s ruling, married same-sex couples in California can now take advantage of these estate planning benefits:
Portablity – gay spouses can now take advantage of portability, where the surviving spouse can add the unused estate tax exclusion ($5.25 million in 2013) of a deceased spouse to their own.
Gift-splitting – individuals can give up to $14,000 annually to anyone without incurring gift taxes, and now married gay couples can combine their annual exclusion to give up to $28,000 a year to anyone without paying gift taxes.
Qualified retirement plans – gay spouses can now name each other as beneficiaries for qualified retirement plans.
Rollover IRAs – gay spouses will now be able to take advantage of marital provisions that allow surviving spouses to roll over IRA assets into his or her own IRA and postpone required minimum distributions until the year after reaching the age of 70 ½.
If you have questions about how recent legal rulings will impact estate planning for your family, contact our Orange County law firm.