Originally posted by svt4stv: besides the will issue, there is also the wrongful death issue. if a gay couple are riding in a car together (sounds like the beginning of a joke) and they get into a wreck caused by a drunk driver, one dies, the other probably wont be able to sue for wrongful death or loss of consortium, even if they have lived together for 50 years. depends on the state's wrongful death statute/loss of consortium but most states dont even allow common law marriages to recover. typically only legally married spouses and blood relatives (even relatives can be strictly limited).
I've not researched wrongful death statutes in regard to civil unions, etc. Most likely, the DOMA act would apply here as the law is ignorant/neutral when it comes to prejudices/beliefs. The old adage "follow the letter of the law" is literal in so far as the specific wording is to be interpreted literally and directly. As DOMA specifically defined both marriage and spouse, if I researched this issue I'd probably find that only legally recognized marriages under the current statutes of the state and/or federal courts (depending on where the case is heard and the precedents from case history) would be able to sue for wrongful death. I could very well be mistaken in this assumption though.
Quote: now just for arguments sake, imagine one is handicapped and doesnt work. the other dude is killed and he is the sole bread-winner. now handiman is left with income and could be tossed onto the street. we would find it abhorrent if this were to happen to a nice heterosexual couple.
im not advocating nor denying their claim to rights. im just pointing out additional issues that can arise (no pun intended )
In the example above, this is also IMHO a matter of poor planning and lack of foresight. What you described above is a typical one income family situation. In my family's case, since we are a one income family, I myself have around 1mil in life insurance if anything were to happen to me along the line of what you outlined above. Realistically though, we're far more likely to be disabled in life than we are to die unexpectedly, about seven times as likely last time I researched this issue, which means everyone should have sufficient disability insurance coverage. In any case, disability insurance and life insurance are both "willable" items in the event of death. I can buy a life insurance policy on anyone really, and designate any beneficiary I wanta to, I just have to pay for it to keep the policy in force.
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