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Defense of Marriage Act › Surviving Spouse

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is a United States federal statute enacted in 1996 which defines marriage as a union exclusively between a man and woman for the purposes of federal programs and benefits. In... more +
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is a United States federal statute enacted in 1996 which defines marriage as a union exclusively between a man and woman for the purposes of federal programs and benefits. In addition, DOMA provides that individual states are not required to recognize marriages between gays and lesbians who are legally married in other states. less -
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Ninth Circuit Rules that a Domestic Partner Under California State Law Was a Spouse for an ERISA Plan

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

In an unpublished decision dated May 16, 2019, the Ninth Circuit held that a plan administrator abused its discretion by denying surviving spouse benefits under an ERISA retirement benefit plan to a participant’s domestic...more

McGuireWoods LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Holds Same-Sex Marriage To Be a Fundamental Right

McGuireWoods LLP on

The United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ (2015) on June 26, 2015. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license a marriage...more

Poyner Spruill LLP

Same-Gender Marriage Implications for Employee Benefit Plans

Poyner Spruill LLP on

In the summer of 2013, the Supreme Court issued a decision in U.S. v. Windsor, striking down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and eliminating the requirement that federal law recognize only marriages...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

Marriage and Taxes in 2013

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC on

Two significant events in 2013 underscored the nexus of marriage and taxes that make it possible for many couples to radically simplify their estate planning. ...more

Laner Muchin, Ltd.

Citing Windsor, Two Courts Extend Spousal Rights To Same-Sex Couples Who Reside In States That Do Not Recognize Same-Sex Marriage

Laner Muchin, Ltd. on

As we previously reported, the decision overturning the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) left open many questions, including the impact of the decision on states that do not recognize same-sex marriage. Recent decisions...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Two Federal Courts Recognize Same-Sex Spousal Rights for Residents of States Not Permitting Same-Sex Marriage

McDermott Will & Emery on

Obergefell v. Kasich and Cozen O’Connor v. Tobits may reflect a growing trend of courts and other bodies to recognize same-sex marriages validly celebrated elsewhere even if the couple’s current state of residence does not...more

Fisher Phillips

Same-Sex Spouse Is Entitled To Death Benefits Under ERISA-Qualified Plan

Fisher Phillips on

Following on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Windsor, a federal district court in Pennsylvania recently held that the same-sex spouse of a deceased employee is entitled to receive death benefits under the...more

Perkins Coie

Implications Of Same-Sex Marriage Decisions By U.S. Supreme Court For Employer-Sponsored Health And Welfare Benefit Plans

Perkins Coie on

Two controversial cases involving same-sex marriage were decided on June 26, 2013 by the United States Supreme Court. ...more

Butler Snow LLP

Landmark US Supreme Court Decision May Extend US Tax Benefits to UK Civil Partners

Butler Snow LLP on

On Wednesday, 26 June 2013, the US Supreme Court ruled that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), which limits the definition of “marriage” to “a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife” and...more

Troutman Pepper

Supreme Court Rules DOMA Unconstitutional – Employee Benefit Plan Implications

Troutman Pepper on

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court, in U.S. v. Windsor, ruled that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional because it violates the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection guaranty for persons of the same...more

FordHarrison

Legal Alert: Supreme Court Strikes Portion Of DOMA

FordHarrison on

On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court issued a pair of opinions favorable to the gay rights movement, ruling that married same-sex couples are entitled to federal benefits and, by declining to decide a case from...more

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