Newsletter
Oregon Estate Planning
and Administration
Section Newsletter
Volume XXII, No. 2
April 2005
Published by the
Estate Planning
and
Administration
Section of the
Oregon State Bar
In This Issue
1 Basic Estate Planning for Nontraditional Couples
4 Who Wants to Be a Realtor?
5 What’s New
6 Practice Tip: Draft Estate Planning Documents to Allow for Gifts from an
Incapacitated Donor
7 Legislative Watch
8 Calendar of Seminars and Events
Basic Estate Planning
for Nontraditional Couples
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the traditional Leave It to Beaver
household consisting of a working husband, a stay-at-home wife, and
approximately two children represents less than 10 percent of U.S.
households today. Today’s households include unmarried couples of many
varieties, including young heterosexual couples, senior heterosexual couples, gay
and lesbian couples, unmarried couples without children, and unmarried couples
with children from existing or previous relationships.
Federal and state laws governing inheritance, including transfer taxes, generally
benefit the traditional family; however, some legal benefits reserved for married
couples have gradually been extended to unmarried couples living together. The
legal status of same-sex couples has been developing most rapidly. Initially the rights
of same-sex couples were considered analogous to unmarried heterosexual couples.
Same-sex marriage is now recognized in the Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of
Canada. Numerous countries also recognize civil unions. In the United States, the
rights of same-sex couples are developing in a variety of ways at the state level,
including the recognition of domestic partnerships, civil unions, and same-sex
marriage laws. These laws clash with the federal Defense of Marriage Act, HR 3396
(“DOMA”), which defines a marriage as a relationship between one woman and one
man for purposes of federal law and benefits. DOMAs have also been adopted by a
majority of states, including Oregon, where voters on November 2, 2004 approved
Meas