Florida Same Sex Married Couples To Be Eligible For Federal Tax Benefits
Back in June, shortly after the groundbreaking ruling in U.S. v. Windsor, I wrote a post in which I asked whether Florida same sex partners would get federal benefits. Though the ruling struck down parts of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), it did not touch on state DOMAs. Further, part of the rationale for the Windsor ruling was that marriage laws should be consistent within states so that if a state recognized gay marriage for the purpose of state benefits, then the federal government should recognize gay marriage in that state for the purpose of federal benefits.
But would the federal government recognize the marriage of those same sex couples who legally got married in one state, but then moved to a state, such as Florida, that did not recognize same sex marriage?
The answer, at least for one benefit, appears to be yes.