Same-sex marriage contact planners on marriage issues

The legalization of same-sex marriage last month in New York already is sending gay and lesbian couples to their financial planners for advice.

“We have had discussions with dozens of clients in anticipation” of legalized same-sex marriage, said Jennifer Hatch, president of Christopher Street Financial, which at its 1981 founding was one of the first investment firms that focused on the gay and lesbian community.

Same-sex marriage already is legal in a handful of states, and Ms. Hatch said that she has counseled couples in the past to go to nearby Connecticut or Massachusetts to tie the knot, if it made sense for them. But many New Yorkers wanted to wait until it was legal in their home state, she said.

“It wasn’t until this event happened that the rights were more meaningful to them,” Ms. Hatch said.

The law, which goes into effect July 24, makes New York the most populous state to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed.

Although New York “acknowledged” some aspects of marriages from other states, Ms. Hatch said, same-sex couples who married in other states couldn’t file as a married couple for New York state taxes. Now they can.

Ms. Hatch said that it probably won’t make much difference in taxes for most couples, but it is an issue to consider.

In fact, there are so many financial issues that come into question for same-sex marriages that Christopher Street, which has about $200 million in assets under management, is planning to hold webinars and a handful of seminars around the state to give couples a primer.

One issue to keep in mind, Ms. Hatch said, is that the federal government doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage, which will affect the financial planning for such couples. Combining checking or savings accounts is probably not a good idea for most same-sex couples because of federal gift tax issues, which could come into play.

E-mail Lavonne Kuykendall at [email protected].