SEC Issues Guidance Clarifying Its Interpretation of "Spouse" and "Marriage" in Light of US v. Windsor | Practical Law

SEC Issues Guidance Clarifying Its Interpretation of "Spouse" and "Marriage" in Light of US v. Windsor | Practical Law

The SEC issued interpretive guidance to clarify how it will interpret the terms "spouse" and "marriage" in light of the US Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Windsor, which held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.

SEC Issues Guidance Clarifying Its Interpretation of "Spouse" and "Marriage" in Light of US v. Windsor

by Practical Law Corporate & Securities
The SEC issued interpretive guidance to clarify how it will interpret the terms "spouse" and "marriage" in light of the US Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Windsor, which held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.
On June 19, 2015, the SEC issued interpretive guidance to clarify how it will interpret the terms "spouse" and "marriage" in light of the US Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Windsor (133 S. Ct. 2675 (June 26, 2013)). The Court held in Windsor that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (which defined "marriage" for purposes of federal law as between one man and one woman) is unconstitutional.
Consistent with Windsor, the guidance states that the SEC will interpret the terms "spouse" and "marriage," where they appear in the federal securities statutes, the rules and regulations promulgated under those statutes, releases, orders and any guidance issued by the SEC or its staff, to include, respectively:
  • An individual married to a person of the same sex if the couple is lawfully married under state law, regardless of the individual's domicile.
  • Such a marriage between individuals of the same sex.
The guidance will take effect on July 1, 2015.