Boulder County brings the epicenter of Gay Marriage to Colorado.

[LarsMac]

Last month the Boulder County Clerk began issuing Marriage licenses to same-sex couples, in spite of Colorado's current ban.

Under legal threat, Boulder County clerk vows to continue same-sex marriage licenses - Colorado Daily

This will escalate, I believe, until the question finally arrives in the appellate court system to be decided there. Given the events in other states, it will likely result in a reversal of the state ban on same-sex marriage.

A motion was filed today to challenge the state ban.

Couples file federal lawsuit challenging Colorado's gay marriage ban - Colorado Daily

So now the state faces a two-pronged attack.

All of this started when same-sex couples began requesting a provision for civil unions that would provide tax and other considerations similar to marriage so that members of such unions would receive the tax benefits, and financial considerations, like right of survivorship on property, and stuff like that.

The moralists, of course stepped in and quashed that effort.

Now, a couple of decades later, we have the IRS coming around:

Treasury and IRS Announce That All Legal Same-Sex Marriages Will Be Recognized For Federal Tax Purposes; Ruling Provides Certainty, Benefits and Protections Under Federal Tax Law for Same-Sex Married Couples

It is inevitable that all states will eventual have to at least recognize such unions, from other states, and it seems this should not have been such a struggle.

[Oscar Namechange]

It appears that they are progressing In recognising that civil partners need protection over estate should one die. It's a good thing. To not recognise Is surely discrimination ?

[LarsMac]

My sister-in-law is a CPA. A rather conservative, Christian, very old-school.

Even she recognized, many years back, that this was something that was going to need to be addressed.

Had they dealt with the Civil Union idea many years ago, much of the row of today would have been avoided.

I am somewhat old school, and confess to a little bit of discomfort with the whole Marriage thing, but I do believe that everyone has the right to live with whoever makes them happy, and there should be legal provisions to allow them to do so.

The question has driven a very large divide between myself and some of my more religious friends and family.

[gmc]

Pardon my curiosity. What is the status of long term living together but unmarried heterosexual couple. What we would call a common law wife, do they have a claim on each others estate?

[LarsMac]

That depends on the state, but basically boils down to the couple having to declare themselves married, and carrying on publicly as married.

If you're interested, here is a site that goes into detail.



If not married, then like any other couple of people, of any persuasion, unless they form some sort of financial partnership, or trust, they have no legal standing.

And in some states, there are still some rather archaic laws about unrelated people sharing a household. Their legal status is no more that that of college roommates.