Second Circuit Finds that U.S. Government Cannot Discriminate Against Legal Same-Sex Marriages in Applying the Estate Tax

The U.S. Court of Appeals struck down the Defense of Marriage Act in the case of Windsor v. United States.  Specifically, the Court found that section 3 of the Act, which defines marriage as the legal union between one man and one woman, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

The case involved a same-sex couple who had legally married in Canada, and lived in New York.  One spouse died, leaving the other to inherit property.  The surviving spouse claim the spousal deduction for federal estate tax purposes, which was disallowed under the Defense of Marriage Act.  As a result, the estate tax bill amounted to over $300,000.

Under the Court's decision, the Federal Government would be required to recognize legal same-sex marriages when applying the federal estate tax.  In some respects, the Court's decision could be far-reaching, as legal same-sex marriages would have to be treated equally to heterosexual marriages for a variety of federal laws and programs, such as Social Security benefits, family leave and employee benefits.  On the other hand, the Second Circuit has jurisdiction only over Connecticut, New York and Vermont.  The only other federal court to find the Defense of Marriage Act to be unconstitutional is the First Circuit.  For the rest of the country, the Defense of Marriage Act remains the law of the land.  Nonetheless, the Second Circuit's decision makes it more likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case involving the Defense of Marriage Act.

I go into more detail in this article.

A New York Times article on the decision can be found here.

The text of the decision can be found here.

By:  William J. Kovatch, Jr.
(703) 837-8832
info@kovatchelderlaw.com