Chris Tymchuck is a partner, parent and lawyer - in that order. She created this blog to provide same-sex couples with information to assist with establishing, preserving and protecting their families. She runs the firm Unique Estate Law to assist Minnesota families with all of their estate planning needs.Read More About TGE »While we in Minnesota fight against enshrining discrimination into our state constitution, the Washington state senate voted 28-21 in favor of gay marriage yesterday.
It’s refreshing to see politicians fight for the civil rights of their gay and lesbian constituents and stand up to those filled with fear.
Way to go Washington!
I attended the annual Minnesota Lavender Bar Association Conference this past weekend. I was thoroughly impressed with the lineup of workshops and the breadth of knowledge shown by the speakers. These practitioners work in a very niche market and are often called upon to navigate areas of law never contemplated by the Legislature or Courts….
As the Gay and Lesbian community of Minnesota continues to prepare itself for a hateful and hurtful battle over amending our state Constitution to further prohibit same-sex marriage, support from allies can lift our spirits and help us continue to fight. This is especially true when the supporter is a United States Senator. Senator Al…
I am honored to announce that the Gay Estate was named as a Top 25 Blawg for Minnesota for 2011. Thank you to the folks at Practice Law and the Minnesota State Bar Association for the selection – and kind words about my blog. I wasn’t aware that The Gay Estate had even been nominated…
After my partner gave birth to our wonderful daughter 4 years ago, we immediately began working with a lawyer on the second-parent adoption process. A second-parent adoption is the legal procedure through which the non-birth parent (me) may adopt the child of the biological parent. During the process, our lawyer mentioned that there is a…
As you know, gay couples do not have access to many of the benefits that come with legalized marriage. Because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) the federal government does not recognize gay marriages – even for those who are married in states in which it is legal. As a result, the federal tax…
I previously introduced you to Jay Dworsky, a guest blogger who will be covering financial topics for Unique Estate Law. We will be featuring Jay in our new Financial Friday series: each Friday we will be bring you Jay’s expertise on financial issue that affect your unique family. Jay continues his series on life insurance…
The two basic types of life insurance are term life and permanent (cash value) life. Term policies provide life insurance protection for a specific period of time. If you die during the coverage period, your beneficiary receives the policy’s death benefit. If you live to the end of the term, the policy simply terminates, unless…
In this second part of my two-part blog series, I’d like to talk about the documents I feel are the most necessary to provide your family with the protection it deserves in the event of your death. Pulling Together the Necessary Documents I believe that it goes without saying that everyone should have a will. …
If you’re like most people you hear the term “life insurance” and immediately start contemplating your dinner plans or reminiscing about your last vacation. Let’s face it – the topic of insurance doesn’t generally captivate audiences. But, please take the time to read this post as guest blogger Jay Dworsky explains the importance of including…
