Pride & Opinions

As Mombian notes, the new year is not only a time that many use to reflect on financial goals and upcoming situations, but also one when many states have laws that go into effect. New Hampshire, as I’m sure many are aware, passed a civil union law, the first one to do so without any legal challenge. As she says, “That’s progress, much as many of us still hope for full marriage. All of New England now has some form of relationship recognition for same-sex couples, except for Rhode Island.”

In addition to having civil unions, though, Mombian points out a good article from The Washington Post about same sex divorce, which points out the pitfalls of different and overlapping legal jurisdictions when it comes to legal status for GLBT relationships. One example of how divorce settlements differently affect GLBT couples is the case of alimony and tax payments:

For same-sex couples, divorce can be financially ruinous. Heterosexual couples claim a tax deduction for alimony payments, but that benefit is not available to gay and lesbian spouses because the Internal Revenue Service does not recognize their marriages.

Divorce lawyers say that, while gay people making alimony payments are hurt the most by the IRS policy, their ex-spouses are also affected, because a tax deduction often provides an incentive for larger payments.

“In a straight context, alimony is an income stream from one person to another and tax-deductible to the person who is paying it,” said David W. Eppley, a divorce lawyer with lesbian clients. “But in a gay divorce, there aren’t two parties, there are three, and that third party is Uncle Sam.”

Even though it seems weird to go into a relationship thinking about its dissolution, this article makes clear that the assumptions held by heterosexual couples about the right that is divorce often simply don’t apply to gay couples. As one person quoted in the story says, “Current tax law allows only $12,000 to be transferred from one gay spouse to another without being subject to a gift tax. “Federal law looks at gay divorcees as strangers,” Eppley said. “Bob can’t transfer property to Steve without it counting as a taxable transfer, whether in capital gains or a gift and potentially both.”"

That, to me is sad. The article is good, though, and worth a read, especially if the change in New Hampshire’s laws have you considering a run to the border.

Link to The Washington Post via Mombian.

GLBT, gay marriage, gay divorce, New Hampshire

GLBT, gay marriage, gay divorce, New Hampshire