Tag Archives: glbt

Gay couples that live in states that do not recognize same sex marriages have unique concerns when it comes to estate issues and real estate. Below are some legal avenues that you can use to protect your gay partner and ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes. Wills Wills are important estate planning documents that allow you to distribute your assets according to your wishes upon your death. If you do not create a will, your estate will be distributed according to the intestate laws of the state […]

LGBT home owners are destined to be more prosperous now that DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) has been struck down by the Supreme Court but only if they are married and live in a state that has legalized gay marriage. Currently gay couples can only marry in twelve states and the District of Columbia. There are another seven states that recognize gay relationships as civil unions but it has yet to be seen if the striking down of DOMA creates more red tape or less red tape for gay […]

After celebrating the Supreme Court’s historic rulings on gay marriage last week, it’s time for same-sex married couples to sit down and go over their finances. That’s because legally married same-sex couples are now entitled to the same federal benefits as their straight counterparts. Married gay couples can file joint federal income taxes for the first time and as spouses they won’t have to pay inheritance taxes when one partner dies. But the decision still leaves a lot of unanswered questions. What do couples who move to states that don’t […]

Time to thank your neighbors for their nice flower boxes. A new study summarized by the Harvard Business Review confirms what’s become conventional wisdom in many urban areas that gay couples have a positive impact on a community’s home values. But there’s a surprising twist: The addition of one same-sex couple for every 1,000 households is associated with a 1% increase in home prices in U.S. neighborhoods that are socially liberal, but a 1% drop in neighborhoods that are extremely conservative, say David Christafore of Konkuk University in South Korea […]

Buying a home is huge step, and often represents the culmination of a lifelong dream. But while under the thrilling spell of the home buying experience many LGBT buyers fall victim to three of the biggest mistakes. Became familiar with these pitfalls to successfully avoid them. #1 Overreaching One of the many companies directly owned by Warren Buffett, the most successful investor in American history, is a business that builds and sells homes across the United States. Addressing the shareholders of that company Buffett explained that when he is qualifying […]