Civil unions in New Jersey will not automatically convert to married status

Now that same-sex marriage is legal in New Jersey, tax and estate plans must be reviewed and updated in order to avoid unintended consequences. Civil unions in NJ will not automatically convert to married status, and while same-sex couples who previously married in New York will now be recognized in New Jersey for state tax purposes, their estate planning documents may not take this into account.

“Now NY, NJ and Connecticut all allow same-sex marriage, which makes things easier for couples in the tri-state area who work in one state but live in another,” says Janis Cowhey McDonagh, East Coast Leader of Marcum’s LGBT Practice Group and a Trusts & Estates attorney. “But Trusts & Estates documents must be updated to consider the tax consequences, asset transference, child custody, power of attorney and other factors that will become effective under the new same-sex marriage law.”

Contact Julie Gross Gelfand, Julie.grossgelfand@marcumllp.com, office (631) 414- 4302, cell (516) 729-8067