WHAT DO ALASKA MARIJUANA AND GAY MARRIAGE HAVE IN COMMON WITH FLORIDA INHERITANCE RIGHTS?

The legal winds of change are blowing across America in 2014. January provides a fast start for this new year with cutting-edge legal issues. What is this all mean for #Florida inheritance rights? And how is everything possibly connected?

# Alaska marijuana, # gay marriage and #Florida inheritance rights have more in common than you think.  Or are they just somehow legally interconnected? Well, what’s going on outside Florida, could be an example of what’s to come here in the sunshine state for Florida #probate and #estate matters.

Alaska could become the third state to legalize #marijuana. #Alaska is doing what other states are doing regarding #same-sex marriags, and #gay marriage. It’s changing   the    law, creating more legal choices, expanding civil liberties and giving more power to the people. Creating more rights.

So, how does #Alaska marijuana fit in with Utah? After all, isn’t #Colorado the cutting edge marijuana state?

The connection between Alaska marijuana and Utah have nothing to do with marijuana. It has to do with creating new rights, more options for American citizens.

While #same-sex marriage, and #gay marriages, have had legal victory after victory, a small legal setback has just occurred. The #New York Times www.nytimes.com, reports that “In a move that cast doubt over the marriages of roughly 1,000 same-sex couples in Utah, the United States Supreme Court on Monday blocked further same-sex marriages there while state officials appeal a decision allowing such unions.”   But is this really a setback, or just a pause along the legal road to rights for #gay marriages? After all, the US Supreme Court overruled the #defense of marriage act last June, 2013. Is #DOMA dead? Not completely. Which brings us full circle to the #Florida and the issue of #inheritance rights.

Florida still outlaws #same-sex marriages. By doing this, Florida is limiting very valuable #inheritance rights and involvement in the #Florida probate of a Florida estate. While state after state, across the United States of America, permit #gay marriage, it’s going to take a lot more effort in Florida. Florida law places significant restrictions on #same-sex couples. Florida law does not permit #gay marriage. This is more significant than some realize.

Consider this: the # Boston College Center of Wealth and Philanthropy, www.bc.edu/research/cwp, estimates that $41 trillion is passing from the WWII generation to Gen X and Gen. Y.   Right now!    Trillion — with a “t” ! Not billions. Okay, so what’s the leap?

In every state across the country, spouses, husbands and wives, and widows, have very valuable estate, inheritance and property rights to another spouse’s #estate. Widows and husbands and wives have #inheritance rights worth billions of dollars. #Florida probate law, and #Florida estate law, give a surviving spouse, or a widow, amazing rights and very valuable interests in the family residence, a family allowance, certain bank accounts, certain # survivorship rights, personal property, family automobiles, wage accounts and certain legal preferences.

Why don’t #Gay marriages and #same-sex couples get those valuable #Florida inheritance rights? #DOMA was overturned by the US Supreme Court.

In the near future, sometime in Florida, a spouse of a #gay marriage, will die. The #gay widow, the surviving spouse, will seek to assert his or her #Florida estate rights. Some family member, or someone else, will oppose that, and fight that — based on Florida’s law which outlaws #same-sex marriage. Florida’s laws which discriminate against #gay couples and which gay Florida citizens, are found in the Florida Constitution and in Florida statutes. It is going to take a #Florida lawsuit or #probate dispute to overturn those #DOMA like laws in Florida.  #Florida probate litigator as superhero or defender?

So, cutting edge, hot topic legal issues are swirling around Alaska and Utah right now.   Lots of legal activity. New laws, and challenges to the existing law, are creating rights and opportunities – – – and huge legal bills. #Florida estate law is not far behind to create new rights, #inheritance rights, and #estate rights, for #gay marriages, and #same-sex marriages. But the legal winds of change may be blowing a bit slower in the sunshine state. Although Alaska, and Utah, are in the headlines now, creating inheritance rights in Florida may be a higher legal mountain to climb than seen in Alaska and Utah — especially from the swamps of Florida.