The US Supreme Court is deciding whether to upend the
Defense of Marriage Act and allow same-sex marriage in a move - due to be
announced any day now - that could carry significant implications on US tax law and financial planning. 

According to the Human Rights Campaign, the US-based civil
rights organization, the Defense of Marriage Act denies lawfully-married
same-sex couples over 1,100 federal benefits and protections.

The US Supreme Court is also expected to rule on California’s “Proposition 8” ban, which, as
reported by the Financial Times yesterday,
would effectively make it unconstitutional for any state to ban same-sex
weddings. At present, individual state governments have their own say on the matter, with
12 states and the District of
Columbia already permitting same-sex marriages. Polls
indicate that the public is increasingly comfortable with the idea, the FT’s report said.  

New York-based law firm McDermott Will & Emery described the implications as potentially "true game-changers," highlighting yesterday that the
decisions could directly affect employee benefits, tax laws, financial
planning, the legal recognition of same-sex couples’ relationships and
families, as well as how terms such as “marriage” and “spouse” will be
federally defined in the US.

Already, a growing number of wealth management firms are
catering to lesbian, gay and bi-sexual clients as they recognize
the complexities such issues raise. Earlier this year, for example, US Trust unveiled
an integrated offering for the “modern wealthy American family.” Family Wealth Services aggregates investment, banking,
wealth transfer and legacy planning capabilities, providing strategies that
incorporate generational differences, family diversity, emerging risks to
financial security and overall family goals and values.

As domestic LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender)
partners do not – at this moment in time - typically have the same automatic legal
rights and benefits as opposite-sex married couples, developing and
implementing a strategy that considers the evolution in federal, state and
local laws is crucial in helping this segment pursue critical wealth management
and legacy goals, the bank said.