June is LGBT Pride month—Celebrate by Planning for Yourself and for Your Loved Ones

LGBT Pride Month is celebrated each year in the month of June. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.

In President Obama’s 2013 proclamation, he wrote:

"This year, we celebrate LGBT Pride Month at a moment of great hope and progress, recognizing that more needs to be done. Support for LGBT equality is growing, led by a generation which understands that, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." In the past year, for the first time, voters in multiple States affirmed marriage equality for same-sex couples. State and local governments have taken important steps to provide much-needed protections for transgender Americans.” Read the complete proclamation.

If you are a member of the LGBT community, the best gift you can give yourself this month is peace of mind by planning for yourself and for your loved ones. An LGBT couple can avoid numerous problems through proper estate planning. A proper estate plan will ensure the client's assets are distributed to whom he or she wants, when and how he or she desires and will also assure that any surviving minor children are raised by the person designated in the plan.

Proper estate planning ensures that correct strategies are used to avoid penalties, extra taxation when possible, and the nightmare and expenses of probate. A Revocable Living Trust can establish the client's domestic partner as the trustee if the client becomes incapacitated through illness or accident. The Revocable Living Trust guarantees privacy because it avoids the court-supervised probate process which is open to the public. The Advance Medical Directive can also avoid the potential problems of the client not maintaining control over his or her health care decisions and the domestic partner not having access to his or her partner during a period of incapacitation.

We here at The Fairfax LGBT Law Firm of Evan H. Farr, P.C. have strategies in place to help LGBT couples. With advance planning, each person, regardless of sexual orientation, can retain the benefit of the money, income and assets it has taken a lifetime to accumulate. Visit http://www.LGBTelderlaw.com for more details, and call 703-691-1888 to make an appointment for a no-cost consultation.

P.S. On June 13, join us for an LGBT Pride Month Event for clients and potential clients who would like to learn more about LGBT legal planning. Delicious refreshments will be served. We hope to see you there! Space is still available, so please click here to learn more and to RSVP.

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