Germany's Constitutional Court Rules Same-Sex Partners Entitled to Equal Inheritance Rights

Feminist Wire (Ms. Magazine): German Same-Sex Couples to Receive Equal Inheritance Rights: 

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that registered same-sex partners should receive the same inheritance rights as married couples. According to theAssociated Press, the court decided yesterday in favor of two plaintiffs who had lost their partners and were forced to pay an inheritance tax similar to those paid by distant relatives.

"The Constitutional Court ruled that there was not a significant enough difference between married spouses and registered life partners to justify discrimination against the latter," court spokeswoman Judith Blohm told Deutsche Welle. The court has given the German government until 2011 to compensate those penalized under the unconstitutional inheritance law, according toReuters. . . .