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 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.