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subject: Create An Limited Liability Company To Recover Privileges Ordinarily Lost To Ssm Couples [print this page]


Create An Limited Liability Company To Recover Privileges Ordinarily Lost To Ssm Couples

What are some of the 1,300+ benefits granted to traditional one man-one woman married couples automatically but lost to LGBT couples? What are LGBT couples missing?

1. No joint tax returns at the federal level, though they filed joint returns at the state or local level.

2. For a typical couple, SSM partners will lose more than $8,000 each year in Social Security survivor benefits after the passing away of the top earning spouse.

3. No survivor benefits or lump sum death benefits on behalf of the surviving "spouse" of an LGBT partner who was employed by the federal government or the armed forces, or under Social Security.

4. Cannot file an immigration petition for a foreign-born spouse even if the SSM was official in your spouse's home country, for instance, Canada or Denmark.

5. Not able to take advantage of joint husband-wife gift and estate tax exemptions.

6. No automatic right under most state laws to make healthcare decisions on behalf of a partner in a medical emergency. The legal "next of kin" assumes these duties and makes decisions with or without the partner's consent.

7. Marriage is not a necessity for proudly owning property together, but for married couples in nearly all situations, property will be jointly owned regardless of who paid for it. The exact reverse of this presumption applies to unmarried couples. In the absence of equitable ownership presumptions that married couples have, an LLC can grant joint ownership of property and other resources and how those assets will be divided upon breakup.

8. Several business entities such as family limited partnerships are not open to LGBT couples.

9. When a heterosexual worker and his or her family receives health benefits by means of a job, the cost of those benefits is tax-exempt. If an employee is able to acquire health benefits for a same-sex spouse or domestic partner, the federal government requires that the employee "spouse" report those same benefits as taxable income.

10. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 permits individuals up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off to care for ill spouses, or the children and parents of a spouse. Leave denied to an LGBT companion.

11. Can be denied the privilege to visit a partner in critical care/ICU. Incidents in some hospitals such as Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, have led to more enlightened visitation policies.

12. For most same-sex couples, joint or second parent adoption is not permitted. Some states such as Florida completely bar same-sex partners from adopting.

13. No automatic inheritance in the absence of a will.

14. No death or spousal settlements for retirement pensions, Social Security, Medicare, or annuities. Protections for one spouses crucial financial resources such as the ability to reside in the family home when the other spouse requires Medicaid long term nursing home care are lost.

15. In state court actions, no wrongful death benefits for surviving SSM spouses or children.

16. Cannot assert certain judicial immunities such as the right not to bear witness against a spouse.

17. No right to make decisions concerning final preparations for a deceased "spouse", such as burial versus cremation, or where the departed will be laid to rest.

18. No SSM benefits provided to military families including healthcare, dental, housing, educational aid, vocational preparation, home mortgage guarantees, relocation assistance, housing allowances, survivors' benefits, and VA benefits.

19. No survivor's benefits for spouses of federal employees, including lost wages, workers' compensation, health insurance, and retirement benefits.

20. Lack of other state civil causes of action such as loss of consortium, crime victim recovery reimbursement, and domestic violence restraining orders.

LGBT couples would be wise to consult their lawyers in order to prepare legal documents to recover as many benefits as possible that conventional married couples obtain automatically. The 20 denied rights above are simply the tip of the melting iceberg.

These documents may include:

- Limited Liability Company for asset protection and distribution

- Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare

- Co-Habitation Agreement

- Co-Parenting Agreement

- Simple Will

- any number of trusts for additional asset protection

Many states, including Florida, will recognize correctly constructed cohabitation agreements. A crucial use for same-sex cohabitation agreements is that the essential purpose cannot be to enforce a sexual arrangement. Also, sex cannot be offered in exchange for money or other financial consideration. These kinds of agreements are void as against public policy.

Every situation is unique, but many of these agreements are advantageous for male-female married couples also. Protect you LGBT relationship with an LLC until and even after SSM discrimination ends.

LGBT and alternative families will have to rely on a mixture of a Secure Couple LLC and other legal documents to gain even a small portion of the 1,300+ legal and economic benefits offered to married couples.

Retrieve your free Secure Couple LLC ebook and learn how to form an LLC to publicize your commitment, set up your joint finances, and protect your future pending the federal government and the several states eliminate marriage discrimination against LGBT couples and others who choose not to marry.

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