CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
San Francisco County has become the first in California to end the practice of reassessing a gay couple's shared property when one partner dies, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Under state law, married couples are exempt from having their property reassessed when one of them dies. But because same-sex couples cannot legally marry, they have been subject to such reassessment. As a result, the tax bills after one partner dies can be financially crippling. Under the San Francisco County assessor's ruling, gay couples who are registered as domestic partners receive the same exemptions as married couples. "I feel like I should celebrate," said Ursula Bellamy, a 64-year-old who has been fighting a property tax bill since her partner died in 1995. When the couple bought their Glen Park home in 1974, it was valued at about $62,000. But after Bellamy's partner died, the assessor's office reassessed the value at about $500,000. Used to paying about $980 in property taxes every year, Bellamy said she faced a $13,300 bill last year, which included the taxes due for the five years since her partner died. "It's a horror story," she said. Bellamy should be able to successfully appeal the reassessment under the new rule, deputy chief assessor Ronald Chun said.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Joe Biden sends queer lawmakers & LGBTQ+ allies to Paris Olympics
July 24 2024 12:08 PM
Kamala Harris rides wave of Democratic energy at kickoff event in Wisconsin
July 23 2024 3:36 PM
'Devastated:' A six-week abortion ban will go into effect in Iowa next week
July 23 2024 2:28 PM
Four hours, 44,000 Black women, and one Zoom call
July 23 2024 2:17 PM
Record 1.2 million people show out for Cologne’s Pride parade
July 23 2024 10:51 AM
Here's how far-right activist Leonard Leo helped fund Bud Light boycott
July 23 2024 10:27 AM
Elon Musk’s comments about his trans daughter prove why she doesn’t speak to him
July 23 2024 9:16 AM