In Pennsylvania, same-sex marriage does not is against the law. Specifically, in the Domestic Relations Code, the legislature defines marriage as a “contract between one man and one woman” (Section 1102). Unlike its position on common-law marriage that was discussed in the previous post, it also has rejected the concept of comity, in which the laws of other states usually are recognized and respected. Instead, the legislature has invoked the “strong and longstanding public policy” exception to comity in Section 1704 of the Domestic Relations Code so that same-sex marriages, “even if valid where entered into,” are void here.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor, et. al. from June of this year may be the start of major changes throughout the country. Windsor dealt with the federal Defense of Marriage Act, in which Congress defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The case concerned two women who were married legally in Canada and then moved to New York, which recognized their marriage. The widowed spouse was the beneficiary in the Will, but the IRS forced her to pay the federal estate tax even though a spouse would have been exempt from this tax. With Ms. Windsor believing that she faced unequal treatment due to her gender, she filed the lawsuit that ended up in the Supreme Court. In what was a landmark decision to put it mildly, the Court found the federal definition of marriage unconstitutional, basing this decision mostly on due process grounds.
Marriage generally is a state-law issue. Windsor does not alter this but does affect federal rights and benefits of legally married spouses of the same gender. Changing the type of marriage found in the example in the previous post from a common-law marriage to a validly entered same-sex marriage, the couple who got married legally in Washington, D.C. can remain same-sex partners but no longer are considered spouses when they relocate in Pennsylvania.
While federal law usually supersedes state law, some issues – including marital and property rights – have been left to the states in most circumstances. This is where Windsor leaves many unanswered questions. The Social Security Administration made an effort to deal with this by issuing regulations after the Windsor decision. In the example, the SSA instructs the person who married in Washington, D.C. and then became a Pennsylvania resident to apply for benefits on the work record of her same-gender spouse when eligible because the marriage originally was valid.
Due to residency in Pennsylvania when she applies, the SSA currently will put a hold on the application, but the application does establish the protective filing date for benefits that may be paid later if the same-sex marriage that does not exist in Pennsylvania becomes valid again as it was when the couple resided in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, had the surviving partner stayed in Washington, D.C., she could receive benefits now.
Bankruptcy law also relies on state law to define numerous rights, including property rights during marriage. Pennsylvania allows people filing for bankruptcy to choose to use federal or state exemptions for property. When a married couple owns their property as tenants by the entireties, this effectively prevents a spouse from transferring any ownership interest to a third party and generally puts the property out of reach for creditors of only one spouse. If most debt belongs to one spouse, the couple may decide that only that spouse will file, using the state exemptions to protect their joint property. However, a tenancy by the entireties can exist only when there is a valid marriage. Pennsylvania, by declaring same-sex marriage void, prohibits a same-sex couple from owning property in this way. Once again, there is different treatment at this point under federal law and under state law for individuals who, but for their genders, would be in the same situation.
Estates also are affected by marital status. Pennsylvania law gives rights to a surviving spouse preventing this spouse from being disinherited due to a deceased spouse’s Will. However, a person who entered into a same-sex marriage prior to settling in Pennsylvania becomes a virtual stranger regarding estate rights when the other person dies – the individual would not have the rights of a spouse. Instead, a Will would need to identify the person and specifically leave property to him or her (although the survivor essentially receives any part of the estate as a friend, not a spouse).
Also, Windsor provided that, regardless of gender, Ms. Windsor was a spouse and would be treated the same as other spouses under federal estate tax law, dropping her tax rate to zero percent as a result. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania’s inheritance-tax rate for a spouse is also zero percent, but, due to a same-sex marriage being void, an unrelated person of the same gender receiving property through a Will falls into the 15-percent tax bracket. In each of these situations, we see different treatment solely due to gender. Such issues will remain as long as same-sex marriage is rejected in Pennsylvania.
Next year could be a watershed year for Pennsylvania marriage law due to numerous court cases that involve possible recognition of same-sex marriages. A change could come soon after June when Whitewood v. Wolf, which directly attacks Pennsylvania’s statutory ban on same-sex marriage, is scheduled to be heard in a federal court in Pennsylvania. The ban on same-sex marriage and its resulting complications easily could be history in Pennsylvania before 2014 ends. Time – and, most likely, the courts – will tell.