Discrimination Against Same Sex Couples Goes to Federal Court in Minnesota

For years in Florida, gay couples were discriminated against.  You could not, for example, inherit under the Florida Probate Code if your same sex spouse died without a will.  Everyone thought this would have stopped with the Obergfell case from the United States Supreme Court in 2014: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf.  But discrimination against same sex couples still exists today.  A recent case out of Minnesota reveals that some videographers refuse to video same sex couples’ weddings. 

According to a September 22,2017 New York Times article, videographers “wanted to post a statement on their website saying they would not make films celebrating same-sex marriages.” The United States District Court in Minneapolis ruled that this was NOT acceptable.

In Florida, same sex marriage was once illegal.  That is no longer the case. What does this mean for estate and trust lawyers in Florida?  Or, perhaps a better way of asking that question is: how have the probate laws in Florida changed for a same sex marriage or gay couple? Well, you can now get married in Florida if you are a gay couple.  This means that you, as a surviving spouse, or widow or widower, have very valuable inheritance rights to your spouse’s estate if he or she dies.

Same sex couples have rights under Florida probate laws to inherit homestead, family allowance, and a guaranteed % of your spouse’s estate, even if there is no will or you are not listed in the will.   That means that you could inherit stocks, bonds, real estate, homes, and bank accounts.  And there is no dollar limit on what you can inherit!

 That’s right, same sex couples get a guaranteed inheritance even if there is no will, or if the will leaves the estate of your spouse to someone else.   But filing for such an election is limited in time, so don’t delay. Ask a probate attorney in Florida who handles estate matters and inheritance disputes.  And remember: you have to file papers with the probate court, which means that you have to “open” a probate.  A letter to a judge, or to the estate won’t work.  Don’t get lulled into a false sense of security if the estate or the probate attorney for the “family” promises you something but there’s no inheritance coming your way.

 Ask your Florida probate attorney or estate lawyer about the Florida elective share and the intestacy share that a spouse or widow is guaranteed to inherit. 

 Pankauski Hauser PLLC is based in West Palm Beach, Florida but handles trials, disputes, probates, estates and appeals throughout Florida.  Pankauski Hauser has represented surviving spouses, or widows, of same sex marriages. Our Florida probate law firm has advised same sex couples about inheritance rights after gay marriage and the Obergfell case.