Pittsburgh Family Law Services, P.C. Blog

Throughout 2025, many same-sex couples of been very concerned about how to guarantee they will each still be protected due to the political climate.  If you turn on the news, there’s plenty to read and hear about how some people want to make same-sex marriage illegal and potentially the U.S. Supreme Court will agree with them and overturn the ruling in Oberfell v. Hodges, which allowed same-sex couples to marry.  What happens at that point?  As an attorney, I have no control over what the Supreme Court does or does not decide to do.  But we can offer some ways to give you the same protections you have now.  

First, I should start by saying that the likelihood of same-sex marriage being undone in the near future is low, and the likelihood of saying previous valid marriages are no longer valid is even lower.  Here’s why:  

As of November 2025, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving same-sex marriage.  This is significant because to even get to the Supreme Court level, the person has to allege that they’ve been harmed in some way by same-sex marriage being permissible.  Merely being uncomfortable or disagreeing with it doesn’t give “standing” to say you’ve been harmed.  If that were the only thing required, we wouldn’t have any laws!  The person would have to show that they were significantly harmed financially or personally (such as imprisonment or some other restriction on their freedom of movement).  This is already a hard standard to meet because very few people are going to be able to show that this occurred; and if they can demonstrate harm, there are likely other remedies available that don’t involve the Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court also doesn’t have to agree to hear the case.  I don’t know that there’s ever been clear guidelines about what it does and doesn’t hear, but if the underlying facts of a case are bad enough that a majority of justices are skeptical that they’d rule the way they want to rule, they’re not going to hear it.  

But let’s say the Supreme Court did hear a case involving same-sex marriage and then decided to overturn the Obergefell decision.  In that case, it would be up to individual states to decide whether to allow same-sex marriage.  However, it doesn’t just end there.  The Respect for Marriage Act requires states to acknowledge valid marriages that were performed in other states, even if the same marriage would not be permissible in the other state.  The Respect for Marriage Act is an act of Congress and states cannot refuse to follow this law.  It would take another act of Congress to undo it.  

But let’s say even that happens.  In Pennsylvania, although there are obviously different political opinions, the general consensus is that same-sex marriage should continue to be legal.  In fact, lawmakers in Pennsylvania have been trying to codify protections for same-sex marriages.  There are numerous reasons why this is the case, some which are personal and others which are economic.  But overall, the likelihood of Pennsylvania even wanting to undo it is low, let alone being able to get the votes to make it go through.  Even if it did though, we have a precedent on how to handle marriages which are no longer legal.  We actually did it in 2005 with Common Law marriages!  The way it worked with Common Law marriages is that while new marriages were no longer permissible, those that were valid prior to the day it was repealed were (are!) still considered valid.  Because Pennsylvania already has a precedent for how to address marriages which were allowed but no longer are, I cannot see how it would decide to do something different with same-sex marriages.  

As you can see, the number of things that would have to happen for this to be a real threat to a Pennsylvania same-sex marriage is substantial!  None of these would happen in 6 months, or a year, or even in 4 years.  But if all of that did happen, there’s a way to ensure your spouse is still protected:  estate planning!  Through estate planning, which includes having a Will, Trust, financial power of attorney and healthcare power of attorney, you will guarantee that your wishes are followed.  

Estate planning is critical for all couples, regardless of whether future validity is questionable.  But if you’re in any kind of “non-traditional” relationship, even including co-habiting couples, it’s even more important.  There is a default distribution of property and a default hierarchy for who gets to make decisions on your behalf if you don’t already have a plan in place.  You can never predict how the default decision-makers will react and you can’t predict how you would feel about it in the moment it’s needed.  But if you're not legally married to a person, that individual has no rights to inherit from you or to make decisions on your behalf.  It’s devastating when the person you’ve shared so much of your life with is not respected by your family but that is unfortunately what happens far more often than it should.  Estate planning prevents this from happening and ensures your companion will be protected.  

We can’t predict what will happen in the future with same-sex marriage, but an estate planning lawyer will help you protect your spouse and companion.  And whatever happens with the law, we will find a way to offer that protection.  If you are concerned about your spouse or unmarried partner being protected, please contact an estate planning lawyer to begin the process!