Serving Gays on the Net

New website helps prepare documents, find representation

July 2009 Issue
By Julie Kay

To read article from the ABA Journal Web site visit: Serving Gays on the Net

It was the 2004 election, and Lindalisa Severo was distressed. The Atlanta lawyer and gay rights activist was disturbed by the num­ber of anti-gay-marriage amendments on state ballots (including in her own state of Georgia) and thought other gays and lesbians were being systematically denied legal rights available to the general population.

So she got the idea to start an online service where the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community could turn to have legal documents pre­pared—everything from living wills to parenting agreements to powers of attorney.

Her idea was to have an easy and affordable way for gays and lesbians to fill out forms online without having to visit a lawyer. She realized that while same-sex couples in big cities may feel comfortable visiting lawyers, those in smaller, rural or conservative towns might not. She also wanted the service to be affordable.

After Severo teamed up with her brother, Internet guru Tony Severo, as well as online legal services provider RocketLawyer.com and other partners, she launched LegalOut this spring.

In addition to document preparation, LegalOut offers document storage and sharing, news blogs, links to petitions and other activist sites, and a referral network of lawyers sympathetic to LGBT causes.

The service costs $20 a month or $120 annually for unlimited document preparation, with the first document free.

“I felt like if they weren’t rec­ognized by the law, at least legal­ly same-sex couples could be tied togeth­er,” says Severo. “I’ve heard horror stories of one of the partners passing away and the family taking the house and leaving the other partner with nothing.

“If you’re not protected as an LGBT couple, you could really lose a lot.”

Even in states that don’t ban same-sex marriage, same-sex couples often lack the right to visit hospitalized partners, to make health care decisions for ill partners or to assume community property when partners die. They also may have no clear-cut separation or parenting-rights agreements.

LegalOut is one of several online legal documentation services that have sprung up in the last few years. Pink Legal offers similar services in the United Kingdom. RocketLawyer.com and Rainbow Law Center do so in the United States.

Many of the services, like Legal­Out, are state-specific: The online form asks which state you live in, then guides you to specific questions based on that state’s laws.

Jennifer Pizer, senior counsel for Lambda Legal in Los Angeles, says such services are needed, particularly in rural or conservative areas. “Law­yers often closet themselves and clients often closet themselves,” she says. Lambda Legal is a civil rights organization that represents gay causes in the courts.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, many LGBT individuals have lower incomes than those of heterosexuals. And the fact that LegalOut is affordable is par­ticularly vital, Pizer says.

While Pizer advocates permanent changes to anti-gay laws, she recommends individuals prepare legal documents in the short term to protect themselves.

“Everyone can have a will prepared, prepare a health-care advance directive and power of attorney papers,” she says. “The law refuses to recognize that we exist, so yes, there is an extra degree of need.”

For more:

A Congressional Budget Office study discusses 1,138 federal statutory provisions affected by marital status.

Note from Lindalisa Severo, LegalOut President:
“The LGBT community has always been fueled by grassroots efforts in conjunction with legal advocates. Although I am not a lawyer, as mentioned in the article, I was motivated by my commitment to the community and have benefited from the input from attorneys equally committed to enriching LegalOut with their expertise.”

Gay Marriage Rights are up for vote in New York today.

New York Governor David Patterson introduced a gay marriage bill that would legalize same sex marriage in New York. Send an email to your NY State Senator and ask them to vote YES on the marriage equality bill S. 4401.

“Anything But Straight” has done an amazing job compiling a list of NY State Senators and with one click you can easily send an email message. Visit Anything But Straight to review senator list>>>

Thank you for supporting the NY same sex marriage bill.

ATLANTA – LegalOut announced the addition of a new online do-it-yourself domestic partnership agreement, an important legal document for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender couples.  Since rights between same-sex couples in many states are governed by principles of contract law, and not family law, a domestic partnership agreement outlines the legal rights and responsibilities of each partnership in a long-term committed relationship. The easy domestic partnership agreement is the latest interactive legal document published by LegalOut in partnership with RocketLawyer.com.

The LegalOut Domestic Partnership Agreement identifies each partner’s responsibilities, such as how to share income, pay bills, and whether property is meant to be jointly or individually owned. This document can also help in the event of a separation by clarifying ownership of property and by specifying a dispute resolution mechanism.  The do-it-yourself document is easy and inexpensive to complete.

“When a same-sex couple decides to form a long-term committed relationship, it’s smart to obtain a domestic partnership document to help solidify the relationship by outlining the responsibilities of each partner”, said Attorney Allison McDonald of the The Law Office of Tavis L. Knighten, P.C, who reviewed the new domestic partnership agreement.  She continued, “A domestic partnership agreement supplements other estate planning documents such as: living wills, financial and healthcare power of attorney documents, co-parenting agreements, and hospital visitation authorization documents, all of which help to protect a couple’s interests.”

LegalOut‘s President, Lindalisa Severo said, “Many states do not recognize any form of same-sex couple marriage benefits, as evident in the recent ruling in California to uphold Prop 8. It’s important for LGBT couples to be proactive to ensure that their plans for the future reflect their own wishes. A domestic partnership agreement helps outline these wishes.”

Charley Moore, Rocket Lawyer’s Founder and CEO added, “We’re proud to partner with LegalOut to provide the Domestic Partnership Agreement online.  The LGBT community has unique legal needs, and LegalOut is leading the way to help fill that need. It’s essential for everyone to have easy legal documents to protect themselves and their loved ones.”

Thanks to LegalOut, it’s easier and more affordable for members of the LGBT community to take care of their legal needs.  The first legal document is always free, and for $19.95 per month users have unlimited access to all LegalOut documents and membership benefits, including an online vault to securely store the document, document sharing , electronic signatures, and more.

Start your domestic partnership agreement now!

About LegalOut

LegalOut is an online resource center that provides the LGBT community with affordable legal document solutions.  Powered by RocketLawyer.com™, LegalOut provides hundreds of do-it–yourself legal documents including living wills, domestic partnership agreements, financial and health care power of attorney documents, co-parenting agreements, and many others. In addition, the site provides resources to keep members informed, empowered, and protected – connecting LGBT individuals, families and business operators with lawyers who understand the unique needs of the LGBT community.

Guest Blogger, Bernadette Smith, owner of It’s About Time, discusses the joys of helping gay and lesbian couples create beautiful and meaningful weddings.

Five years ago, when marriage equality came to Massachusetts, I started my company to help gay and lesbian couples plan their legal wedding called It’s About Time.

Fast forward five years and 100 weddings, and as I write this, the news broke that New Hampshire, our neighbor to the north, just passed a marriage equality bill that the governor promises to sign.   This makes New Hampshire the 5th state in New England to allow gay marriage, joining Connecticut, Vermont, Maine and of course, Massachusetts.  Iowa in the Midwest also allows gay weddings.

What an exciting time to be a gay wedding planner!  I truly have an amazing job.

My clients from my most recent wedding live in Los Angeles and they brought themselves, about 30 friends to Massachusetts for their wedding.  Surely it’s great for the economy.  At the reception, one of the grooms said during his toast, “Thank god for Massachusetts for letting us come here to marry!”

It is quite special to be a part of history and to witness these couples celebrate their union, in many cases, after years of being together.  The guys from LA were married in their 25th anniversary year.  I see this all the time, and it brings with it such a sense of gratitude and appreciation for this right.  And it should – getting married is a big deal.

I find myself involved both in marriages and in weddings.  I work with many couples who are simply looking to elope where they can do so legally.  I have packages for luxury elopements which include everything from assistance getting the license and hotel arrangements to a mini wedding cake.  And of course, I plan large, extravagant formal wedding celebrations with hundreds of guests.

But whether it’s a marriage or a wedding, I have the best time, and really enjoy getting to know couples from all over the country. I have standing offers of places to stay in LA, NYC, Atlanta, Austin, St. Croix and more!  It’s a privilege to be invited into a couple’s lives and I can’t imagine a more perfect career.

I was America’s first gay wedding planner and five years later, I have lots of stories to tell and advice to share.  Do you have questions about getting married or wedding planning?  If you do, ask them in the comments and I’ll get back to you.

To contact Bernadette Smith, visit It’s About Time Events.

LegalOut Note:
If you are planning to get married or form a long-term committed relationship, ensure your interests are followed should something unexpected occur and protect your your partner’s wishes by preparing legal documents. At minimum, any basic estate plan should include the following documents: Hospital Visitation Authorization, Living Will, Health Care Power of Attorney, Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney. Protect yourself now - create legal documents.

By Lauren E. Mross - LegalOut, V.P. of UX

In early February of last year I was anxiously awaiting a call back from my doctor to discuss the results of a recent thyroid biopsy.

I had to step out of my office for a meeting, but I was relieved that my partner was there and would be available to take the call while I was out. When my doctor finally did call, however, my partner was unable to receive the biopsy results. Why? Because all medical records are handled with complete confidentiality unless you have a Release of Medical Records Form on file in your physician’s office. My doctor was simply following the letter of the HIPAA Law.

Initially, I was upset about my doctor’s refusal to give the information to my partner, thinking it was discrimination since we weren’t legally married. My doctor explained that even legally married couples need this form on file to have full disclosure of their spouse’s records. It is a matter of patient privacy.

A little thing such as taking a phone call can turn into a very big thing when it comes to your health. As it turned out, I ended up having surgery to remove my thyroid and it was found that I have thyroid cancer. It would have made a difference to me and my partner to have my medical information delivered as quickly as possible in that situation.

That phone call last February was just the tip of the iceberg in what turned into a major medical situation for me. My partner and I had the wake-up call we needed to get our healthcare paperwork in order – to ensure the protection of our rights. These are rights that many of us may take for granted, or not even consider, until the time comes. My advice to you is don’t wait until the time comes – protect yourself now.

If you are in an unmarried, committed partnership, whether you are LGBT or heterosexual, please keep in mind the need for these important healthcare documents. Give yourself and your partner maximum protection in your time of need.

At a minimum, any basic estate plan should include the following documents: Release of medical records for your partner or spouse, Hospital Visitation Authorization, Living Will, Health Care Power of Attorney, Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney.

To prepare any of the legal documents mentioned, please visit LegalOut to quickly and easily create affordable legal documents — all in the privacy of your own home.

New Hampshire will become the sixth state in the U.S. to offer marriage equality to all couples. After many revisions to increase protections for religious institutions, Governor John Lynch signs the gay marriage bill into law.

Another step forward for LGBT equality!

For more visit: The New Civil Rights Movement