U.S. Supreme Court to Review Defense of Marriage Act in Estate Tax Refund Case

On December 7, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the June 2012 decision of the trial court in Windsor v. U.S.  The trial court, the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, held that a same-sex surviving spouse is entitled to an estate tax refund, as the definition of “marriage” under the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) deprived the surviving spouse equal protection, as guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  As such, the trial court also held that DOMA’s definition of marriage is unconstitutional.This appeal to the Supreme Court of the trial court's decision was filed before of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the trial court's decision in October 2012.Section 3 of DOMA defines “marriage” as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.”I had previously posted about the trial court decision and about the Second Circuit decision. Want to further discuss these issues?  Feel free to contact me at 954-944-3929 or nrumbak@rumbaklaw.com.