Because same-sex marriages are not legally recognized in the State of Nevada, it is imperative that same-sex couples have various written plans in place to ensure that their personal and financial affairs are properly structured and managed, and to secure their future and the future of their loved ones. Without a Will, for example, the surviving partner in a same-sex relationship does not stand to inherit property nor the minor children of the deceased partner. Furthermore, without a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare or a Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Decisions, LGBT individuals leave it up to their biological family and to the state to make important decisions about their health care and finances. Until same-sex marriages are validated and legalized in the State of Nevada, the family law rules that automatically apply to heterosexual marriages and that offer them legal rights, benefits, and duties, do not apply to same-sex couples. It is, thus, so important for all LGBT individuals to make their wishes known! |
| Same-Sex Relationships |
Have you thought about... (1) Who you want appointed as the Guardian of your minor children should you pass away tomorrow? (2) How your minor children will be provided for? (3) How your domestic partner and other family-of-choice members will be provided for? (4) Who you want to leave your home to? (5) Who you want to leave your vehicle(s) to? (6) Who you want to leave your various personal items to? With a Will, you can ensure that your wishes are respected and followed by the probate court and that your domestic partner and other family-of-choice members are provided for. Without a Will, the laws of the State will apply as a default rule and your domestic partner and other family-of-choice members may not inherit anything! |
| Wills |
The Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare is another important document for LGBT individuals because, again, the laws of the State of Nevada do not recognize same-sex marriages and, thus, partners in same-sex relationships do not automatically have the same rights that spouses in heterosexual marriages have. With a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, however, you can make your wishes known! Through a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, you may designate a person (or persons) as your "agent" or "proxy" to make medical decisions for you should you become unable to make those decisions yourself. This document also specifically outlines your wishes as to the treatment that you want to receive and the choices that must be made about your care. We encourage you to execute a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare and to make your wishes known! The same heartbreaking situation that occurred in the Teri Schiavo case in Florida does not have to happen to you! |
| Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare |
With a Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Decisions you may designate someone you trust to be your "attorney-in-fact" to make financial decisions for you. This document is important because, should there be a situation that leaves you unable to tend to your financial affairs, it gives your designated "attorney-in-fact" the authority to handle all your money matters, such as paying your bills, making bank deposits, and managing your investments. A Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Decisions is important because it allows you to plan ahead and to make your wishes known. Without a Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Decisions, should you become incapacitated, a court will decide who should handle your finances. And what if the court appoints some person you would not normally have chosen? The answer is simple. Make your wishes known! |
| Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Decisions |
Partnership Agreements - Nevada's laws and constitution ban same-sex marriages and other forms of same-sex relationships. Thus, same-sex couples must protect themselves by affirming their relationship through a domestic partnership agreement or marriage-like relationship by contract. A domestic partnership agreement should be tailored to include the rights and responsibilities that are provided in a legal marriage, such as those concerning income, property, post-separation support, guardianships, and durable power of attorneys. If properly drafted and executed, domestic partnership agreements are enforceable in courts. Donor Agreements - Using an anonymous donor absolutely guarantees that the donor will not seek parental or visitation rights to a child. However, many lesbians choose to ask a known donor. If you decide to use a known donor, you may want to consider involving a doctor or a doctor-supervised sperm bank in the insemination process. Most states provide that a home insemination with a known donor without the aid of a doctor or doctor-supervised sperm bank makes the donor the legal father of the child. This poses a problem for a second parent wishing to adopt the child because the known donor must consent to terminate parental rights. Thus, lesbians who decide to use a known donor should prepare a donor agreement. A donor agreement states the parties’ intent as to their relationship to each other and to the child. For example, a donor agreement may state a woman’s intent for the donor to have some or no contact with the child born from the insemination, and may state that the donor will not seek custody or visitation. Although donor agreements are not legally binding, they provide everyone involved with a clear understanding of the agreement and of the parties’ expectations and desires with respect to their child born from the insemination. Parental Agreements - Parental agreements state a same-sex couple’s intention and desire to parent a child together. Such agreements specify that despite the fact that one parent is considered a child’s legal parent, the couple nevertheless consider themselves to be the child’s parents. Although these agreements are unenforceable, they evidence a same-sex couple’s intent to parent together and may evidence the existence of a parent-child relationship in court. |
| Partnership, Donor, and Parental Agreements |
In mostly every state, with exception to those states that recognize same-sex marriages, civil unions, and domestic partnerships, same-sex parents are not treated like legally-married parents under existing laws. Instead, the non-biological parent in a same-sex relationship is known as the “second parent” and is treated like a second-class citizen under the law. A second parent has no legal rights to a child, despite a second parent’s relationship with a child since birth. In other words, a second parent is not recognized as a child’s legal parent, and he or she does not have the right to live with the child, make decisions for the child, nor does he or she have a legal obligation to care for and support the child. In Nevada, second-parent adoptions are allowed in some courts. Furthermore, Nevada has adopted the Uniform Parentage Act (UPA), which states that a person who treats a child as his or her own, holds the child out in public as his or her own, and receives the child in his or her home can be considered a legal parent. Although some courts recognize second parents under the UPA, there have been no court decisions in same-sex cases. The legal parent in a same-sex relationship should prepare a Will nominating the second parent as legal guardian for his or her minor children. Furthermore, the legal parent should prepare and execute a separate nomination of guardian form. |
| Adoption |
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LGBT Rights |
| We fight for peace and for freedom, but still we are invisible. |
| We kick and we scream, but still we are not heard. |
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| We are innocent, but no one cares. |
| We are equal and we are as entitled, but... |
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