DOMA Doomed by Estate Tax Refund Claim

us-supreme-courtThe United States Supreme Court has struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as an unconstitutional violation of the “equal liberty” protections of the 5th Amendment.

The dispute in U.S. v. Windsor began when Edie Windsor filed a claim for refund of estate taxes paid after the death of her same-sex spouse, Thea Spyer. Though the court makes little mention of the $353,053 refund claim in its historic opinion, the high court’s ruling affirmed the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to award the refund.

Read the entire opinion here:
U.S. v. Windsor, Docket No. 12-307 (U.S.S.C. June 26, 2013)