Estate planning is more than deciding how an estate will be divided post-mortem. Sure that is a part of it, but the other part is....life planning. The key is honing in on the best way to protect your clients' interests during their lifetime. When the ABA released the second edition of this book in 2012, a mere six jurisdictions recognized marriage equality. What a difference a day makes...this third edition follows hard on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. The court decided that "marriage is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty." What seemed an impossible pipe dream at the turn of the century is now a reality. From now on there is no "same-sex marriage" or "opposite-sex marriage"; there is only marriage.

Marriage is just part of the equation. It is the beginning not the end of the legal struggle as the LGBT community seeks full rights under the law. LGBT people still face discrimination in other areas. This new edition of Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples by award-winning author Joan M. Burda attempts to address certain struggles for equality and how these issues affect estate planning for LGBT clients. For example, not all same-sex couples get married. These blended families will continue to present challenges that must be addressed. Preparing an estate plan for LGBT clients requires a creative and comprehensive approach.The issues these clients present are unique and involve considerations not usually seen with heterosexual clients.