http://www.nhhousegop.com/Reports/MinorityRep41-60.pdf
Through the careful drafting of wills and trusts, a gay couple can ensure that burial decisions, property rights, inheritance rights and other protections are offered to a surviving partner. It is imperative for a gay Texas couple to keep their wills current. The only way to provide for your partner after your death is through a will. If there is no will, some judges will grant a blood relative more rights than a partner. This may hold true even if the relative is distant and estranged. Without a properly drafted will, a partner of thirty years may hold fewer rights than a relative that has been absent for just as long. Due to not being excluded from estate taxes and gift taxes like a heterosexual widow or widower would be, trusts are extremely important for homosexual couples. Although trusts cannot provide the same benefits as marriage, they do provide substantial tax and other benefits. Be sure to discuss all these options with a "family law lawyer."
Houston Domestic Partnerships Attorneys - Houston Civil Unions Lawyers
Janet visitation rightsIn a Divorce or custody action, permission granted by the court to a noncustodial parent to visit his or her child or children. Custody may also refer to visitation rights extended to grandparents.
..... Click the link for more information., as it might for a divorcing married couple. But when Virginia passed its Marriage Affirmation Act, which declared same-sex "civil unions ... and any rights created thereby ... void and unenforceable," Lisa appealed to Virginia to, in effect, declare that Janet was just a nice lady who once lived with Mommy. Frederick County Circuit Court Judge John Prosser did just that, and the case is now in the hands of the Virginia Court of Appeals.
All happy families: the looming battle over gay parenting. - Free Online Library
Serving Gay Clients
With unmarried couples, a deceased's family may also challenge jointly held property.
Holding property as tenants in common can backfire, too. When one partner dies, that person's share of the property becomes part of the estate and is disbursed according to the will or state laws. If there is no will, the survivor may now own a house with the deceased partner's mother.
Gay Wills & Trusts
A Last Will can, and frequently is, contested by the biological family of the decedent, especially if they have not come to terms with choices during life. In addition to family members interfering with your partner’s rights, now the state and federal governments have taken an interest in thwarting our wishes to benefit our partner when we die.
Unlike a Last Will and Testament, a Living Trust is less likely to be successfully challenged by disgruntled family members and/or others. With the laws becoming increasingly hard on same-sex couples, this may be the most important reason of all to have a Trust in place.
Law Offices of Afshin A. Asher, Inc. - Estate Planning for Gay and Lesbian Couples
There are two major drawbacks to using a simple will as your primary estate planning device. First, ANY PROPERTY PASSING TO YOUR PARTNER, FAMILY, FRIENDS OR OTHER BENEFICIARY PURSUANT TO A WILL IS SUBJECT TO THE COSTLY AND TIME-CONSUMING PROCESS OF PROBATE. Secondly, a will can be, and frequently is, contested by the family of the decedent, especially if they have not come to terms with the decedent's choices during life. In addition, a will is public, which means that anyone can go to the courthouse and see your will after you die.
There are so many hoops gays have to jump through. It's a shame. No matter how many hoops, it's never "for sure". A judge could rule for the "biological mother or father" at any time. Or even for a brother or sister. It's never 100%,