From the American Medical News:

By Doug Trapp, amednews staff. Posted May 7, 2010.

Washington — Same-sex couples and other unmarried partners will have their hospital visitation rights protected by forthcoming federal regulations, according to an April 15 memo from President Obama.

Gay rights groups said the announcement was long overdue. “Many same-sex couples are simply at the mercy of hospital personnel,” said Tara Borelli, staff attorney at Lambda Legal, a nonprofit organization supporting the civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. “Nobody is hurt by allowing that access.”

Obama directed the Dept. of Health and Human Services to issue rules stating that people named in legally valid advance directives and through powers of attorney have the same rights as immediate family members of hospitalized patients when it comes to making health care decisions. Hospitals must also respect patients’ rights to designate visitors.

The rules will apply to all hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid, which is about 90% of U.S. hospitals, according to Rebecca Fox, executive director for the National Coalition for LGBT Health.

Obama said denying loved ones’ access to each other in hospitals during serious health situations has consequences. Physicians and nurses don’t always have the best medical information as a result, and people sometimes die alone while a loved one is “left worrying and pacing down the hall,” he wrote.

No reliable estimates exist on how often gays and lesbians are denied access to their hospitalized partners. Dozens of known cases each year could mask many more unreported incidents, Borelli said.

The American Hospital Assn. issued a brief statement saying that “we will look forward to details of the new regulations as well as direction on coordinating with states’ laws.” The Federation of American Hospitals offered no comment.

Obama said he was moved to act in part by the story of a lesbian couple who was preparing to take a cruise in 2007 with their three children. One of the women, Lisa Pond, collapsed from a brain aneurysm and was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. She died the next day. Janice Langbehn, Pond’s partner of nearly 20 years, was denied access to Pond before she died, but Pond’s sister was not. Langbehn unsuccessfully sued the hospital.

Jackson Health System in Miami — which includes the hospital — has since emphasized same-sex couples’ rights during new employee training, said Jason Schneider, MD, immediate past president of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Assn. and assistant professor of medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine. However, most states do not legally recognize gay marriages, so some hospital staff don’t see same-sex couples as having the same rights as heterosexual married couples, he said.

AMA policy supports hospitals providing the same visitation rights to same-sex couples as they do heterosexual couples.

No one likes to think about times of personal crisis such as illness, accidents, or even death. But such planning is essential for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender individuals and couples, whose basic civil rights, depending on state legislation, can be severely restricted.

Many of us put off estate planning for one reason or another. We know we need to do something, but we wait. We defer making a decision.

Why do we put off estate planning?

Some reasons may be:

• lack of time
• budget concerns
• not knowing exactly what we need
• we don’t want thing about death or crisis situations

But estate planning doesn’t have to be complicated at all. Estate planning is really about taking control over your own life and legacy and providing for who and what you love.

Not planning, means letting someone else plan for you. LGBT individuals need to be proactive to ensure that their plans for the future reflect their own wishes and are not dictated by laws that do not fit your life and relationships or individuals who are not involved in your life and relationships.

Estate planning is an opportunity to protect your wishes and loved ones - LegalOut provides you with affordable solutions to start your estate plan - get started now for a piece of mind!

How does LegalOut work?

It only takes three easy steps to safeguard your rights:

1. Select the documents that are right for you.

2. Review your documents using our simple online tools.

3. Finalize your documents. We’ll give you clear instructions at every step of the way.

Create a Basic Estate Plan:

At a minimum, any basic estate plan should include the following documents (click the link to learn more about the document):

• Hospital Visitation Authorization
• Living Will
• Health Care Power of Attorney
• Last Will and Testament
• Power of Attorney

Safeguard your relationship, secure your financial, property and health care rights by taking action now with LegalOut’s estate planning legal documents.

The passage of Question 1 in Maine (a referendum vetoing the state’s law recognizing same-sex marriages) feels like one step forward and two steps back. Opponents of the state’s marriage equality law campaigned on fear and misinformation. We must not let our spirits be broken but continue to to fight for equality.

Read The Lesson in Losing by Cody Daigle on what we can do as a community to reach marriage equality.

If you are part of a legally unmarried couple, you lack many of the protections and benefits the law extends to married couples. You must create your own safeguards by preparing legal documents.

A smart way to protect your rights is to prepare a Domestic Partnership Agreement, along with other estate planning legal documents.

And now LegalOut is offering members of the LGBT community affordable online do-it-yourself Domestic Partnership Agreement for only $49.95 or FREE with Easy Legal Care Pro™ Free Trial. Take advantage of the deal today! >>

Click here to learn more about the online do-it-yourself Domestic Partnership Agreement.

Check Out Other Estate Planning Documents

A domestic partnership agreement primarily covers the sharing of income, expenses, and property, it doesn’t address other areas requiring protection. You should supplement your domestic partnership agreement with: Living Will, Will, Advance Health Care Directives, Hospital Visitation, Power of Attorney. Find more estate planning documents >>

Vermont is one of five states that now allow same-sex couples to marry. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Iowa are the others.

Read the 365gay featured news story Same-sex marriages begin in Vermont -
http://www.365gay.com/news/same-sex-marriages-begin-in-vermont/

Hooray for Ben & Jerry’s check out how they are celebrating marriage equality in Vermont:

In partnership with Freedom to Marry we are gathered here to celebrate Vermont and all the other great states where loving couples of all kinds are free to marry legally. We have ceremoniously dubbed our iconic flavor, Chubby Hubby to Hubby Hubby in support, and to raise awareness of the importance of marriage equality.
http://www.benjerry.com/hubbyhubby/

A great reason to eat some ice cream today!

Starting a family is an exciting time. There is much to think about, especially if you are in a same-sex partnership - there are medical, legal, financial, and spiritual areas to consider.

It could be an overwhelming process to get started but an educational Web site that makes it easy to access all types of LGBT parenting information is The Rainbow Babies.com, created by Angela Watson.

The Rainbow Babies site provides a central area for general information on the many aspects of LGBT pregnancies and parenting. Watson was inspired to create a site that provides timely information about starting a family whether by insemination, surrogacy, fostering or adoption after listening to her friends talk about their struggles with becoming parents and thought that if they could tell their stories, then other families-to-be could get encouragement and support.

So, in a crazy moment of inspiration, she thought that she would create a website where parents could post their family stories, as well as get timely information on ways to have families, read book and movie reviews related to LGBT families, as well as learn about pertinent legal and social issues related to being LGBT parents in the U.S. today.

Three years later, The Rainbow Babies continues to grow and thrive, currently featuring over 200 pages of nearly all original and exclusive content on every topic dealing with the special challenges of LGBT parenting.

If you have questions regarding donors, insemination process, how to select a sperm bank or interested in reading about LGBT parent stories, The Rainbow Babies provides articles and information for all these areas and more.

Read more LGBT parenting issues at The Rainbow Babies.

LegalOut Note:

If you are planning to start a family, in a long-term committed relationship, ensure your interests are followed should something unexpected occur.  Protect your wishes and family  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, Shared Parenting Agreement, Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney. Protect yourself now - create legal documents.

Guest Blogger: LegalOut welcomes Independent Adoption Center (IAC) as a guest blogger to provide resources to LGBT families with their quest to adopt. IAC, founded in 1982, is a caring, open and supportive agency that understands the unique issues LGBT families face and has a long and proud tradition of working with gay and lesbian families in their pursuit to adopt.

LGBT families face some unique challenges when pursuing adoption. The biggest challenges are discriminatory laws and outdated, and unintentionally discriminatory, adoption agency practices.

Although adoption by LGBT families is outlawed in some states, and is difficult, though not illegal, in other states, in the vast majority of states LGBT adoptions are legal. The Independent Adoption Center (IAC) works with LGBT families to navigate the complexity of each state’s adoption laws to ensure that every adoption is done safely and legally.

The IAC is also committed to best practices in adoption, including practices that ensure the equal treatment of LGBT families. For example, a long standing practice at many adoption agencies is to ask birthparents if they are open to considering LGBT families before presenting family profiles.

This question implies that there would be some acceptable reason to consider excluding LGBT families.

The IAC has always taken the position that all families are equal and we do not ask birthparents if they are open to certain families. We assume they want to see all the families that are open to their situation so they can decide for themselves what is the best placement for their baby. As a result IAC has never had a longer wait time for LGBT families than for heterosexual families. In fact LGBT families have a shorter wait on average.

Although discriminatory laws are a problem in some states the IAC will work with LGBT families to ensure they adopt legally. We also are committed to ensuring best practices in adoption, and continually evaluate our program to ensure it serving all families equally.

Interested in learning more about adoption? Contact the IAC:  send an email or visit IAC Gay & Lesbians Families Web site.

Have an adoption question? Ask the Adoption Experts - Answers to All Your Adoption Questions.

Adoption Experts is a project by the Independent Adoption Center with the goal of spreading reliable information about domestic adoption, open adoption, and other adoption topics. Our experts have the answers to all your adoption questions. Ask your question now>>

Check out adoption stories written by some gay and lesbian families that have adopted through the IAC. Each of these families’ stories is as unique and incredible as the individuals who make up all of our open adoptive families. Read more>>

LegalOut Note:
If you are planning to start a family, in a long-term committed relationship, ensure your interests are followed should something unexpected occur.  Protect your wishes and family  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, Shared Parenting Agreement, Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney. Protect yourself now - create legal documents.

Visit Legalout’s LGBT Issues section to learn more about adoption laws and terms.

Guest Blogger, Attorney, Paige Arden Stanley from the Law Office of Paige Arden Stanley L.L.C. and member of LegalOut’s attorney network, discusses the importance of creating legal documents:

I thought I’d share a recurring theme that I’m noticing in our busy society and with clients and potential clients.

We know we need to do something, but we wait. We defer making a decision.  Yes, we’re all guilty of it.

Why do we wait? Our reasons are different. It may be lack of time. It may be budget concerns. It may be not knowing exactly what we need. We don’t want to have the conversation. And, as individuals, we have so many demands placed upon us. We have to wear many different hats. There are only so many hours in the day. We live full lives and work in demanding jobs both inside and outside of the home.

We’re smart people. We know we really should:

• Update a will since a divorce ten years ago, or
• Create wills since we have been married and now have young children, or
• Have a Health Care Power of Attorney and Living Will in place so a domestic partner can carry out one’s wishes.

But, still, we wait. Really, are we waiting for something unpleasant to happen? Of course not.

Do we want our loved ones to have to guess during a time which is already fraught with emotion? Of course not.

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine who said that she realized that she and her husband had the exact opposite wishes regarding life sustaining measures each would want taken in the event something happened. She assumed they were in accord.  Without a discussion and a Health Care Power of Attorney and Living Will in place for each of them, she would never have known this.

Since none of us can predict what is going to happen or when, go ahead and take the step and get the process started to protect you and your family - prepare legal documents.

Paige Arden Stanley is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, and has been practicing law in the State of Georgia since 2003.  After several years practicing law at a major law firm in Midtown Atlanta, Paige has launched her own law practice, Law Office of Paige Arden Stanley, L.L.C., where she focuses on the areas of estate planning, including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives, and probate and estate administration. In addition, Paige handles business and family law matters as well as other areas in her general practice. Please contact Paige Arden Staney to inquire.

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.