From Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

• Accidental death benefit for the surviving spouse of a government employee;

• Appointment as guardian of a minor;

• Award of child custody in divorce proceedings;

• Beneficial owner status of corporate securities;

• Bill of Rights benefits for victims and witnesses;

• Burial of service member's dependents;

• Certificates of occupation;

• Consent to post-mortem examination;

• Continuation of rights under existing homestead leases;

• Control, division, acquisition, and disposition of community property

• Criminal injuries compensation;

• Death benefit for surviving spouse for government employee

• Disclosure of vital statistics records;

• Division of property after dissolution of marriage;

• Eligibility for housing opportunity allowance program of the Housing, Finance and Development Corporation;

• Exemption from claims of Department of Human Services for social services payments, financial assistance, or burial payments;

• Exemption from conveyance tax;

• Exemption from regulation of condominium sales to owner-occupants;

• Funeral leave for government employees;

• Homes of totally disabled veterans exempt from property taxes;

• Income tax deductions, credits, rates exemption, and estimates;

• Inheritance of land patents;

• Insurance licenses, coverage, eligibility, and benefits organization of mutual benefits society;

• Legal status with partner’s children;

• Making, revoking, and objecting to anatomical gifts;

• Making partner medical decisions;

• Nonresident tuition deferential waiver;

• Notice of guardian ad litem proceedings;

• Notice of probate proceedings;

• Payment of wages to a relative of deceased employee;

• Payment of worker's compensation benefits after death;

• Permission to make arrangements for burial or cremation;

• Proof of business partnership;

• Public assistance from the Department of Human Services;

• Qualification at a facility for the elderly;

• Real property exemption from attachment or execution;

• Right of survivorship to custodial trust;

• Right to be notified of parole or escape of inmate;

• Right to change names;

• Right to enter into pre-marital agreement;

• Right to file action for nonsupport;

• Right to inherit property;

• Right to purchase leases and cash freehold agreements concerning the management and disposition of public land;

• Right to sue for tort and death by wrongful act;

• Right to support after divorce;

• Right to support from spouse;

• Rights and proceedings for involuntary hospitalization and treatment;

• Rights by way of dour or courtesy;

• Rights to notice, protection, benefits, and inheritance under the uniform probate code;

• Sole interest in property;

• Spousal privilege and confidential marriage communications;

• Spousal immigration benefits;

• Status of children;

• Support payments in divorce action;

• Tax relief for natural disaster losses;

• Vacation allowance on termination of public employment by death;

• Veterans' preference to spouse in public employment;

• In vitro fertilization coverage;

• Waiver of fees for certified copies and searches of vital statistics. 

Information about Social Security Survivor Benefits
from Human Rights Campaign (HRC)

Although gay and lesbian Americans contribute to Social Security throughout their working lives, their families are denied the same benefits heterosexual Americans receive upon the death of a spouse. Specifically:

• Partners who are Retired or Disabled are denied surviving spouse benefits because they were denied the right to marry. 

• Partners raising children are denied Social Security surviving parent benefits because they were previously denied the right to legally marry. 

• Children may also be denied Social Security surviving child benefits if the deceased parent was barred from securing a legal relationship to his or her child through second-parent adoption.

This loss of income can be substantial. For example, surviving partners who are 60 years old will lose an average of $9,780 a year – or approximately $166,000 if they live to the average life expectancy of 77. (Based on Social Security Administration calculations that Social Security survivor benefits averaged $815 per month in 2002.)

If there are surviving children, the loss of income is potentially even greater. For example, when a working parent was denied the opportunity to establish a legal relationship to his or her child through second-parent adoption, that child will also be denied the right to Social Security survivor benefits upon that parent’s death. This could translate to a loss of $900 per month, or $10,000 per year, for a child whose parent worked for at least 10 years and earned at least $50,000 in the last year of his or her life.

From Human Rights Campaign

Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
Has Legal Documents to
Protect Your Family

Until lesbian and gay couples are granted the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples, we must find other ways to protect our families. If we fail to do so, the law may grant important rights and privileges to our biological family members, but not our lifetime partners, in times of crises, such as sickness or death.