{"id":774,"date":"2025-01-26T00:15:55","date_gmt":"2025-01-26T00:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/how-a-trump-presidency-might-affect-benefits-for-gay-couples\/"},"modified":"2025-02-12T10:31:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T10:31:20","slug":"how-a-trump-presidency-might-affect-benefits-for-gay-couples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/how-a-trump-presidency-might-affect-benefits-for-gay-couples\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Trump Presidency Might Affect Benefits for Gay Couples"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For nearly a decade, same-sex married couples have received the same federal rights and protections that their straight counterparts enjoy. They include a long list of financial benefits, from spousal health coverage to less expensive tax preparation, not to mention the immeasurable comfort from knowing their unions must be recognized.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Supreme Court granted those rights in two landmark cases \u2014 first in 2013, when it ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to federal benefits, and more broadly in 2015, when gay marriage was legalized across the country. Seven years later, a bipartisan coalition in Congress cemented many of those protections into law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But even now, when The New York Times asked readers if they had money-related questions in the wake of the presidential election, several gay couples wrote with concerns about whether they and their finances may face new risks under a second Trump administration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI would like to think there is no reason to disrupt something that has worked so well for families, their children and society,\u201d said Mary Bonauto, senior director of civil rights and legal strategies at GLAD Law, who argued Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case that legalized the unions, at the Supreme Court. \u201cIt allows people to organize their families and affairs, pool finances, buy property and have kids. In the end, it is popular, and it harms no one.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Trump did not focus on same-sex marriage during his recent campaign, and it\u2019s certainly not the divisive issue it was nearly three decades ago \u2014 the vast majority of Americans <a class=\"css-yywogo\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2023\/11\/27\/how-people-around-the-world-view-same-sex-marriage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">support<\/a> marriage equality. There are more than 740,000 married same-sex couples in the United States, according to estimates from the 2022 American Community Survey.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But gay couples\u2019 concerns aren\u2019t entirely unfounded. The president-elect already reshaped the Supreme Court during his first term, appointing three conservative justices who are now part of a 6-to-3 majority.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And after the court dismantled Roe v. Wade in 2022, eliminating a nearly 50-year constitutional right to an abortion, Justice Clarence Thomas, in his concurring opinion, said the court should use that case\u2019s logic to reconsider decisions on same-sex marriage and contraception rights.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Here\u2019s a look at what that could mean and what\u2019s at stake.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"link-a3d247a\" class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\">What financial benefits does marriage equality provide?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When viewed through a financial lens, marriage affords a long list of federal rights and protections: health insurance through a spouse\u2019s employer, Social Security spousal and survivor benefits, estate tax advantages, retirement planning opportunities, pension rights and less cumbersome tax planning, among others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Being denied those benefits can be costly. Back in 2009, my colleague Ron Lieber and I calculated the extra costs that a hypothetical same-sex couple might incur because the federal government did not recognize their marriage. In a worst-case scenario, the couple\u2019s lifetime cost of being unable to marry was $467,562. But the number fell to $41,196 in the best case for a couple with significantly better health insurance, plus lower taxes and other costs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That doesn\u2019t account for the emotional cost of being denied those benefits, or the anxiety over being denied recognition in hospital emergency rooms or anywhere else.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With marriage equality, most of those costs fade away.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"link-171c0386\" class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\">Where does the law stand now?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Marriage equality came incrementally. In 2013, the Supreme Court found that same-sex couples were entitled to federal benefits. But just two years later, Obergefell legalized same-sex marriage, a 5-to-4 ruling that enabled couples across the country to marry even if their states had banned it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Since Obergefell established gay marriage as a constitutional right, protected by the 14th Amendment\u2019s due process clause, the ruling cannot be overturned by Congress or an executive action. (Four justices would need to agree to hear a case to reconsider the ruling, and then five justices would need to agree to overturn it.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In his majority opinion, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote that the \u201cright to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment, couples of the same sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Since then, however, both Justice Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito have seemingly urged the court to reconsider the decision, which they say is an invented right that is not rooted in the Constitution and that stigmatizes people of faith.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Even if Obergefell was reconsidered, Congress put another backstop in place to protect families against any future rulings from a conservative majority that could chip away at their rights.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Just six months after the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization took away the constitutional right to an abortion, President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law at the end of 2022: It officially erased the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, which defined marriage as being between a man and a woman, and requires federal, state and local governments to recognize valid marriages without regard to sex, race or ethnicity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the bipartisan law \u2014 supported by 61 senators and 258 House members \u2014 doesn\u2019t go as far as requiring all states to issue marriage licenses. If somehow Obergefell was overturned, the ability of same-sex couples to marry would be restricted to states that permitted it.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"link-be5f5a9\" class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\">Could couples see their rights fray?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There have been efforts to dispute the breadth of the Obergefell decision, and gay rights advocates said they would expect that to continue. In 2016, for example, the Arkansas Supreme Court refused to list a biological mother\u2019s partner on her child\u2019s birth certificate, saying the partner was not entitled to a husband\u2019s presumption of paternity, but the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the ruling the next year. In 2015, a county clerk in Kentucky, Kim Davis, was jailed after repeatedly refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses because of her religious beliefs; the Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal in 2020. (Justices Thomas and Alito seized the opportunity to issue a statement criticizing Obergefell and its \u201cruinous consequences for religious liberty.\u201d)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But while the Supreme Court rulings and the Respect for Marriage Act law apply to governmental rights and benefits, their reach is more limited in the private sector. If bakers or website designers want to deny services to gay couples based on their religious beliefs, for example, they might continue to try \u2014 but those actions would fall under state anti-discrimination laws. Many private employers \u2014 including Catholic nonprofits \u2014 who have denied benefits to their employees\u2019 same-sex partner, would be subject to employment discrimination regulations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There\u2019s already concern that recent decisions could make it easier for businesses to turn away L.G.B.T.Q. customers. Last year, the Supreme Court sided with a Christian website designer in Colorado who refused to design wedding websites for same-sex couples, even though the state law forbids discrimination against gay people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe will see more of the religious objection claims,\u201d said Douglas NeJaime, a professor at Yale Law School. \u201cThat could whittle away at anti-discrimination law,\u201d he added. \u201cThat is more of a concern.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"link-4e648026\" class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\">What has Mr. Trump said on the issue?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His position hasn\u2019t been entirely consistent. In early 2016, for example, he said he believed that same-sex marriage should be a states\u2019 rights issue, and that he would strongly consider appointing justices to overturn Obergefell. But later that year, he said he was fine with same-sex marriage, which the Supreme Court had \u201csettled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A Trump spokeswoman did not immediately respond to requests seeking clarification.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"link-1cf2bcfd\" class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\">Is there anything that gay couples can or should do?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Even though same-sex marriage is the law of the land, several legal experts suggested taking a belt-and-suspenders approach when putting your financial and legal affairs in order.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cBeing able to marry provides lots of legal protections \u2014 a default set of legal protections \u2014 and those have been very important for same-sex couples as they have been for different-sex couples,\u201d said Jennifer Pizer, the chief legal officer at Lambda Legal. \u201cAll of that said, it is always a very good idea for people, when they can, to prepare legal documents setting out their wishes for a crisis situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That may include wills, medical and financial powers of attorney, and anything that nonbiological parents can do to solidify ties to their children, such as second-parent adoption.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cMany of these legal steps that people take can be very effective for managing this period of uncertainty and anxiety,\u201d she added. \u201cTake the steps that are within your power to take.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For nearly a decade, same-sex married couples have received the same federal rights and protections that their straight counterparts enjoy. They include a long list of financial benefits, from spousal health coverage to less expensive tax preparation, not to mention the immeasurable comfort from knowing their unions must be recognized. The Supreme Court granted those [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[292,242,537,536,535,224],"class_list":["post-774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-loan","tag-affect","tag-benefits","tag-couples","tag-gay","tag-presidency","tag-trump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=774"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":986,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774\/revisions\/986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}