Many may have heard that the Treasury Dep’t and IRS announced today (8/29/13) that same-sex couples who are legally married are “married” for federal income tax purposes, even if they live in a state that doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage.  Divorce mediators may want to consider a consequence of that, which is raised in this NY Times article, pointed out by Eli Uncyk, a New York City mediator:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/us/politics/irs-to-recognize-all-...

It’s not that the couple may file federal income taxes as married, but that they must.  For couples who earn approximately equally, they may now be subject to the same “marriage penalty” that opposite-sex couples have lived with for years.

In the near term, mediators may also have to consider whether the couple could generate refunds by filing amended returns for past years, and how the refund will be divided by a divorcing same-sex couple.  Or, in family mediation, whether a non-divorcing couple should split the refunds and how to do so.

The Times article also discusses other issues that could affect divorce, and therefore divorce mediation, if you want to check it out.