Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples in Idaho

Same-sex couples have been able to marry in Idaho since 2014. However, married and unmarried couples sometimes assume their relationship alone will protect their partner. Often it won’t. Here’s what Idaho law does by default, and how to make sure your plan reflects your family and your wishes.

The Legal Landscape Today

Same-sex marriages are valid in Idaho under Obergefell v. Hodges. The federal Respect for Marriage Act requires states to recognize marriages validly performed elsewhere. In November 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case asking it to overturn Obergefell. Still, new challenges keep surfacing.

The good news is that a well-drafted estate plan doesn’t depend on any court decision. Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations work the same whether or not you’re married.

If You’re Married

Married same-sex couples are treated like any other married couple under Idaho law, including our community property system. If a spouse dies without a will, the survivor inherits the deceased spouse’s half of the community property.

Separate property is different. If the deceased spouse left children or a surviving parent, the surviving spouse receives only one-half of that separate property. That can leave a surviving spouse sharing property with a parent or adult child. That’s fine if it is what you intend, but don’t let it happen by default just because you didn’t establish estate planning documents to achieve your desired outcome.

Same-sex parents should pay special attention. A birth certificate listing both spouses is helpful, but it isn’t the same as a court judgment. Even for married couples, many family law attorneys recommend that a non-biological parent complete a confirmatory adoption or obtain a parentage judgment. A court judgment carries more weight across state lines. Both parents should also name a guardian for minor children in their wills to plainly express who should raise a child if a parent dies while the child is still a minor.

If You’re Not Married

Unmarried partners face the harshest default rules. Idaho has no domestic partnership registry and stopped recognizing new common-law marriages in 1996. Without legal planning, your partner has about the same rights as a stranger:

• Inheritance: Idaho’s intestacy laws pass your estate to children, parents, siblings, and more distant relatives. A partner of 25 years receives nothing under these default rules.

• Property: Community property rules don’t apply. What’s titled in your name alone is yours alone, no matter who paid the mortgage.

• Medical decisions: Under Idaho Code § 39-4504, if you can’t speak for yourself and haven’t named a health care power of attorney agent, authority passes to a spouse, then to blood relatives. An unmarried partner falls behind every relative on the list.

• Funeral arrangements: Under Idaho Code § 54-1142, control over your remains goes first to the person you have designated in a legal document such as a health care power of attorney document, but if none, then to a spouse, then adult children, then parents, etc.

The Documents That Close the Gaps

Married or not, every same-sex couple in Idaho should consider: 1. A will or revocable living trust that leaves property to the people you choose and names your partner or spouse to administer it.

2. A durable financial power of attorney so your partner or spouse can manage your finances if you’re incapacitated.

3. A health care power of attorney and living will, which put your chosen agent at the front of Idaho’s health care decision-making line. Your health care agent also generally controls funeral decisions unless the document specifically says otherwise.

4. A written disposition designation, signed and notarized, if you want someone other than your health care agent to direct your burial or cremation. This can be a pre-arranged funeral plan under Idaho law, which can be set up through a funeral home.

5. Updated beneficiary designations on life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death accounts. These typically pass outside your will or trust.

6. A deed review. Owning your home as joint tenants with right of survivorship, or through a trust, can ensure it passes directly to your partner.

A Word About Taxes

Married couples who are U.S. citizens benefit from the unlimited federal marital deduction. It lets spouses transfer any amount to each other free of federal gift and estate tax. Unmarried partners don’t get that benefit, so large transfers, such as adding a partner to a deed, may require filing a federal gift tax return. Idaho has no state estate or inheritance tax, but federal rules still matter for couples with significant assets (currently the federal gift and estate tax exemption is $15 million).

The Bottom Line

The law has changed dramatically for same-sex couples, but Idaho’s default rules still favor spouses and blood relatives. Planning ensures the person you’ve built your life with has the authority to care for you and receives the inheritance you intend.

My law firm is currently offering free telephonic, electronic, or in-person consultations concerning probating estates or creating estate planning documents.

Robert J. Green is an Elder Law, Trust, and Estate Planning Attorney and the owner of Kootenai Law Group, PLLC in Coeur d’Alene. If you have questions about estate planning, probates, wills, trusts, or powers of attorney, contact Kootenai Law at 208-765-6555, [email protected], or visit www.KootenaiLaw.com.

This has been presented as general information and not as legal advice. Do not engage in legal decision-making without the advice of a competent attorney after discussion of your specific circumstances.