Some issues are still unique to this community, she says. Only 19 states and the District of Columbia have laws banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identification and three others have nondiscrimination laws for sexual orientation alone, according to the ACLU.
“Same-sex couples may need financial contingency plans for the loss of a job or for being banned from housing,” Ahmed says. “Advisors also need to know how supportive the families are for a same-sex couple. Is someone likely to contest a will, for example.”
Word of mouth and referrals from other professionals and from clients is the best way to become known as a planner who is friendly to the LGBT community, she says. “Or it can be something as simple as putting a rainbow flag on your website.”