In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with attorney Scott Squillace about his new book “Whether to Wed: A Legal & Tax Guide For Gay & Lesbian Couples”. Since the Supreme Court’s decision last June that struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the floodgates opened for federal rights and benefits to flow to legally married gay and lesbian couples across the country. As our LGBT community deals with our income taxes this year there’s a brand new book that’s a must-read for legally married gay and lesbian couples and those that are thinking about tying the knot. “Whether To Wed” delves into the complex details that gay and lesbian couples as well as their tax and estate planners need to know. We talked to Scott about why he decided it was time to write and publish a book that answers many if not all questions that gay and lesbian couples need to know before or after getting married and get his spin on our LGBT issues.
When asked what his personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Squillace stated, “I’ve increasingly gotten involved in the marriage equality movement. I lived and worked in Europe for the decade of the nineties and wasn’t too terribly involved other than to write out a few checks. When I returned to the States around 2000 shortly thereafter I got introduced to GLAD (Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders) in Boston and the case they had filed here in Massachusetts and it was at an event for the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association that they honored the plaintive couples and they were introduced as ‘These are the Rosa Parks of our generation and are the people first standing up and saying it’s not ok to discriminate against us’. It really resonated with me because I thought if people like me who are moderately well-educated and may have a voice in our community don’t stand up and support this effort we’ll have nobody to blame but ourselves for being discriminated against. So that led me down the path to joining the initial board of MassEquality that was supporting the marriage equality movement in Massachusetts and I’ve done a variety of other things. I’m very passionate about these issues. I’m a member of the Supreme Court Bar and attended the oral arguments on the big cases that were decided last year and I follow it all very closely.”
Scott Squillace is a Certified Legacy Advisor of The Sunbridge Legacy Institute, a member of The Boston Foundation’s Professional Advisors Committee and Co-Chair of its Equality Fund an Endowment for the LGBT Community. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Boston Estate Planning Council and is a member of the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association, Pride Planners, the Massachusetts Bar Association and Boston Bar Association where he currently co-chairs its Estate Planning Fundamentals Committee. Squillace lives in Boston with his husband.
For More Info: whether-to-wed.com
1 comment:
I've tried to understand what's best to do to protect property and partner, but I've been stumped....until now. This book sounds like a great guide and Scott appears to be the man to talk to. Thanks for spotlighting Scott and the book.
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