UTAH BAN ON SAME SEX MARRIAGE OVER-TURNED…… inheritance war wages on.

“A federal appeals court found Utah’s laws banning same-sex marriage unconstitutional Wednesday” according to the Wall Street Journal.

As this Florida probate blog has commented on previously, the legal ability of same sex couples to marry is just the tip of the legal iceberg.

Gay couples and gay marriage are not just a Constitutional issue about association and personal freedom.

There’s trillions of $$ at stake in inheritance rights for gay spouses and same sex marriages.

That’s because most states, like Florida, have enacted at least some probate laws and rules which favor a spouse.

Florida probate is the extreme, creating billions and billions of dollars in wealth for spouses who are legally married at the time that one spouse dies.

Beneficiary rights. Rights of a widow to the estate, the probate and revocable trusts.

Florida provides homestead rights, a family allowance, a “guaranteed” 30-50% of the estate, and other valuable rights, in addition to federal law of pensions/retirement accounts.

These inheritance rights and probate rights of a widow can be waived by a valid postnuptial agreement or prenuptial agreement.

There’s trillions at stake.

Here is the link: http://online.wsj.com/articles/appeals-court-rejects-utah-law-barring-same-sex-marriage-1403713186?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories