For LGBTQ+ families, estate planning is about more than paperwork — it’s protection. LGBTQ+ estate planning is the process of making sure the people you love are cared for and your wishes are legally honored, no matter how the legal landscape shifts around you.
The good news is that marriage equality remains the law of the land. In November 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a case asking it to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision that established the nationwide right to marry. There is no active case before the Court seeking to reverse it, and the Respect for Marriage Act, passed in 2022, requires the federal government and every state to recognize marriages validly performed elsewhere.
At the same time, many LGBTQ+ families have understandably felt unsettled by the broader conversation about whether long-settled rights could change. The most empowering response to that uncertainty isn’t worry — it’s planning. A solid estate plan puts your decisions in writing and makes them legally binding, so your protections don’t depend on the political weather. That’s the real power of LGBTQ+ estate planning. This post walks through what that looks like for Maryland families.
Why LGBTQ+ Estate Planning Is Especially Important
Every family benefits from an estate plan. But LGBTQ+ families often face a few added layers of risk that make planning especially important:
- Estranged or unsupportive relatives. Without the right documents, the law — not you — decides who inherits and who makes decisions on your behalf. That can mean a biological relative who isn’t part of your life stepping in ahead of your spouse or partner.
- Decision-making in a crisis. In a medical emergency, you want the person who knows you best at your side and empowered to act. The right documents make that automatic instead of something that has to be argued.
- Protecting your identity. Properly drafted documents can ensure your gender identity, chosen name, and personal wishes are respected, even if you can’t speak for yourself.
- Certainty regardless of change. Wills, trusts, and powers of attorney are honored based on what they say, not on the status of your marriage. They’re protection you control.
Think of it as insurance. You hope you never need it, but having it in place means you and your family are covered no matter what.
The Core Documents Every LGBTQ+ Family Should Have
A complete plan is built from a handful of documents that work together. Regardless of whether you’re married, these are the foundation:
- Last will and testament. Your will directs who receives your assets, names the person responsible for settling your estate, and — critically for parents — nominates a guardian for your minor children. Without one, Maryland’s intestacy laws decide, and those laws may not match your wishes, especially for an unmarried partner.
- Revocable living trust. A trust lets your assets pass directly to your loved ones without going through probate, which keeps your affairs private and avoids potential challenges. For couples who want a seamless, low-conflict transfer of property, a trust is often the centerpiece of the plan.
- Durable financial power of attorney. This authorizes a trusted person to manage your finances if you become unable to. For couples, it ensures your partner can keep paying the mortgage, accessing accounts, and handling day-to-day matters without a court’s involvement.
- Advance medical directive and healthcare power of attorney. This names the person you want making medical decisions for you, and spells out your treatment wishes. It’s one of the most important documents for any couple, married or not.
- HIPAA authorization. This gives the people you choose the right to access your medical information. It’s particularly important for unmarried partners, who otherwise may have no legal standing to even receive an update from a hospital.
- Beneficiary designations. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and similar assets pass according to their beneficiary forms — not your will. Reviewing and updating these is one of the simplest, highest-impact steps you can take.
Protecting Your Parental Rights: Parentage and Second-Parent Adoption in Maryland
For LGBTQ+ parents, securing legal parentage is often the single most important piece of the plan — and the one most commonly overlooked.
When a married couple has a child, both spouses are generally presumed to be the child’s legal parents, and Maryland supports placing both parents on the birth certificate. But that marital presumption isn’t bulletproof. It can be challenged, and a birth certificate alone may not be treated as proof of parentage everywhere you go — particularly if you travel to a state that is less protective of LGBTQ+ families, or if the law changes.
That’s why Maryland family law attorneys consistently recommend that the non-biological or non-gestational parent secure a second-parent (or “confirmatory”) adoption. An adoption is a court order, and under the U.S. Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause, every state must recognize a valid adoption decree from another state. It’s the strongest, most portable form of protection available — the difference between hoping your parentage is recognized and knowing it is. Imagine a medical emergency while traveling out of state: an adoption decree means both parents are unquestionably parents, anywhere.
Maryland also recognizes de facto parentage, established in Conover v. Conover (2016). Under a four-part test, a non-biological parent who helped plan for and raise a child can gain standing to seek custody or visitation. This is a meaningful protection — but it’s a remedy you’d pursue in court after a dispute arises, and a 2025 Maryland decision confirmed that de facto parents may also owe child support. It’s a safety net, not a substitute for establishing clear legal parentage up front.
If you built your family through assisted reproduction, surrogacy, or adoption, these issues deserve specific attention as part of your overall plan.
Special Considerations for Unmarried Partners
If you and your partner aren’t married, estate planning isn’t optional — it’s essential. Under Maryland’s intestacy laws, an unmarried partner inherits nothing automatically, no matter how long you’ve been together. Without a will or trust naming your partner, your assets could pass entirely to biological relatives, and your partner could even lose the home you shared.
Naming each other explicitly in your documents — as beneficiaries, as decision-makers, and as heirs — is the only way to ensure your relationship is recognized the way you intend.
A Note on Older Documents and Past Relationships
If you’ve been in a long-term relationship, take a moment to review your history. Couples who entered into a domestic partnership or civil union years ago, and never formally dissolved it, can occasionally find that the old status complicates a current marriage. And outdated beneficiary designations naming a former partner are surprisingly common. Confirming that prior relationships are properly closed out — and that your current documents reflect your current life — prevents painful surprises later.
Practical Steps to Take Now
- Take inventory. List your assets, accounts, insurance policies, and who’s currently named on each.
- Decide who you trust. Choose the people you want as your healthcare agent, financial agent, executor, and — if you have children — guardian.
- Lock in parentage. If you’re a parent, talk with an attorney about whether a second-parent or confirmatory adoption is right for your family.
- Get your documents in place. A will, trust, powers of attorney, healthcare directive, and HIPAA authorization form a complete, protective plan.
- Review periodically. Revisit your plan after any major life change — marriage, a new child, a move, or a change in assets.
How Jacobson Family Law Can Help
At Jacobson Family Law, we help families across Maryland with LGBTQ+ estate planning that protects what matters most — with clarity, warmth, and none of the drama. We offer flat-fee pricing, so you know exactly what to expect from the start, and we take the time to understand your family as it actually is.
Whether you’re just getting started with LGBTQ+ estate planning, securing your parental rights, or updating documents that no longer fit your life, we’re here to make the process straightforward and reassuring.
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