By Porter Wright on In April, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2014-19, which provided additional guidance addressing the impact on tax-qualified retirement plans of the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013). In the Windsor decision, the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on It is hard to believe that nearly five months have passed since the United States Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in United States v. Windsor. As a reminder, the Supreme Court held that the provisions contained in the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) that exclude same-sex relationships from the definition of marriage and spouse for federal law purposes (i.e., Section 3 of DOMA) are unconstitutional. The broad impact of this holding is clear: for purposes of federal law (e.g., ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, etc.), same-sex marriages must be treated the same as opposite-sex marriages. But, while the general effect is clear, the Supreme Court’s decision left many questions unanswered. … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The United States Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (the “Agencies”) yesterday announced that same-sex couples who were legally married in jurisdictions that recognize same-sex marriages (i.e., either in states within the United States, United States territories or in other countries) will be treated as married for federal tax purposes. … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on In a 5-4 opinion written by Justice Kennedy, the United States Supreme today held in United States v. Windsor that the provisions contained in the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) that exclude same-sex relationships from the definition of marriage and spouse for federal law purposes is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. In doing so, Justice Kennedy has highlighted once again his role as a critical swing vote on the Court. He also has rendered a decision that seems likely to have far reaching implications for the design and administration of employee benefit plans in this country.
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By Porter Wright on In a recent blog, we discussed a case that challenges the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA"), which defines marriage for federal law purposes as a legal union between a man and a woman. DOMA was enacted during the administration of President Bill Clinton. Presuming DOMA is deemed constitutional by the courts and is not repealed by Congress (a possibility that appears remote at this point in time), employers theoretically could comply with federal employee benefits laws contained in ERISA by adopting (or maintaining) the DOMA definition of spouse. … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Feeling overwhelmed by ambiguous employee benefits law? You're not alone. A law firm recently filed an interpleader in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, asking the court to decide whether its deceased employee had a "spouse" who was entitled to profit sharing plan benefits.… Continue Reading
