Wednesday Weirdness-Adopting Gay Partner to Avoid Taxation
Welcome to Wednesday Weirdness, a recurring theme where we post something truly weird and wacky in adoption or child welfare.
The adoption in Pennsylvania was granted.
“A man in Pennsylvania has adopted his partner of 44 years to circumvent high property taxes that would be imposed on either of the men if the other dies.
John, 65, and his partner Gregory*, 75, made the decision to become father and son to avoid a 15 per cent tax on any property and assets willed to one if the other should die – a much higher tax than married spouses or family members are required to pay.
The state of Pennsylvania, where the men reside, recognizes marriage as being only between a man and a woman and has no provision for civil unions at this time.
‘If we just live together and Gregory willed me his assets and property and anything else, I would be liable for a 15 per cent tax on the value of the estate,’ John told ABC News. ‘By adoption, that decreases to 4 per cent. It’s a huge difference.’
It was decided that John, the younger of the couple, should be the adoptive father, since Gregory’s father is still alive at 95.
‘I had panic attacks about a sibling swooping down if Gregory predeceased me,’ John said. ‘A couple of siblings are homophobic and I thought, “We better get our ducks in a row.”‘
The couple began putting their affairs in order.
‘I made all my end-of-life arrangements,’ said John. ‘I want to be cremated. With my Irish-Italian family, there would have been a four-day viewing and a Catholic mass and I don’t want to put Gregory through that.’
In the absence of hope that Pennsylvania would legalize gay marriage in their lifetime, John and Gregory took the decision to adopt to protect themselves from high taxes.
‘We didn’t have the confidence that same-sex marriage would ever be approved in the Commonwealth [of Pennsylvania],’ John told ABC News.
The idea of adoption as a way to have their relationship legally recognized was suggested to the couple by a close friend, Nino, who faced a similar dilemma.
In the event of Nino’s death, his partner would not be able to afford the taxes on assets left to him and ‘would lose their home and be homeless,’ John said.
It’s just one of the financial issues gay couples face in places where their relationships aren’t legally recognized. Other issues include rules regarding state and federal estate laws, inheritance laws, joint state and federal tax filing restrictions, health insurance tax restrictions, and problems with social security benefits.
John and Gregory met at a gay bar in Pittsburgh. Though their relationship hasn’t always been acceptable to their respective families, the couple has been together for 44 years.
‘[My family] was very Irish-Italian Catholic and made me feel guilty about sex preferences,’ John told ABC News.
Cohen said in a press release that civil unions are a ‘middle-of-the-road compromise position between constitutionally banning and permitting gay marriages.’
Cohen previously attempted to introduce civil union legislation in 2011, but it died in committee. The current legislation is pending.
A Franklin & Marshall College poll in May found that 54 per cent of Pennsylvanians support same sex marriage, while 41 per cent are opposed.
Before their day in court, the couple worried that their request for John to adopt Gregory would be denied.
Their home ‘is in the conservative Bible Belt,’ John told ABC News. ‘What if the judge says no?’
The couple’s lawyer told the couple that they wouldn’t be required to tell the judge their sexual orientation or the nature of their relationship, but John worried the judge would ask, and he’d have to tell the truth under oath.
The judge, as it happened, did ask. ‘He said, “I am really curious, why are you adopting [Gregory]?”‘
‘I said, “Because it’s our only legal option to protect ourselves from Pennsylvania’s inheritance taxes,” said John. ‘He got it immediately.’
After signing the papers, the judge turned to John and said, ‘Congratulations, it’s a boy.'”
Gay man, 65, adopts his partner, 73, to avoid high inheritance tax
[Daily Mail 6/28/13 by Alex Greig]
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