Dave Greenbaum and Mike Silverman
Lawrence, Kan.
Who they are: Dave Greenbaum and Mike Silverman, who are both in their early 40s, had a traditional Jewish wedding in 1999 and were legally married in California in 2008. Greenbaum owns a computer repair business, and Silverman works as a software engineer.
Financial impact: Since they live in Kansas, where same-sex marriage isn't legal, they don't think they will be able to file their federal taxes jointly. But they will be eligible for Social Security survivors benefits, and they can now rethink their retirement strategies.
"Our retirement plans have always been under the assumption that we would not be able to get Social Security from the other partner, and we've considered shifting our retirement savings around [now] that more assets can pass between us," said Greenbaum.
On hearing that DOMA is out of the picture: "It was a series of expletives, and we both hugged each other and started crying," Greenbaum said.
