(Bloomberg) -- The Supreme Court’s decision to allow same- sexmarriage nationwide will remove tax and personal-finance headachesthat have bedeviled gay couples.

The 5-4 decision by the court is aparticularly significant victory for many residents of the 14states where same-sex marriages were banned until Friday, oftenunder state constitutional amendments.

Gay couples who are married will now be able to file joint statetax returns, inherit property easily and enjoy hospital- visitationrights just like opposite-sex couples can. In his majority opinion,Justice Anthony Kennedy cited these and other practical benefits ofmarriage as a reason to require states to recognize same-sexmarriages.

“By virtue of their exclusion from that institution, same- sexcouples are denied the constellation of benefits that the Stateshave linked to marriage,” Kennedy wrote. “This harm results in morethan just material burdens. Same-sex couples are consigned to aninstability many opposite-sex couples would deem intolerable intheir own lives.”

The financial gap between gay and straight married couples hasbeen narrowing over the past few years. The Supreme Court, in aseparate case in 2013, overturned the core of the federal Defenseof Marriage Act.

That decision meant gay couples in states where same-sexmarriage is legal could file joint federal tax returns and getspousal exemptions under the estate tax. Some states, however, thenrequired gay couples to split their tax returns for statepurposes.

Health benefits

One of the biggest areas ripe for change will be health andmedical benefits. Currently, some employers offer health benefits to unmarried same-sexcouples while others don’t, said Todd Solomon, a partner in theemployee benefits practice group at McDermott Will & Emery.

Some employers may drop coverage for unmarried same-sex partnersnow that same-sex marriage is a national right, Solomon said.

The ruling also may simplify traveling across state borders forthose who are already married, said Janis Cowhey, a partner atMarcum LLP in New York and co-leader of the firm’s Modern Family& LGBT Services Practice Group.

Cowhey has told clients who are married in New York, forexample, to keep their marriage license and other documents such asa health-care proxy and living will on a flash drive -- in casethey are traveling in a state where their marriage isn’trecognized. If there’s a car accident, they then would have thedocumentation needed to see their spouse in a hospital or help makemedical decisions, she said.

Rights ‘extended’

“This should mean certain state-run health-care programs andadoption rights and community property rights will be extended tomarried couples, which can have some significant economic andnon-economic benefits,” said Alex Popovich, a wealth adviser atJPMorgan Chase & Co.’s private bank. “You seemingly equalizerights across the board to couples regardless of gender of themarried persons.”

For example, in community property states including California,Arizona and Texas, assets held and earned by one spouse aregenerally treated as community property and therefore the equalproperty of both. That right would extend to same-sex marriedcouples, which is extremely relevant in many situations includingdivorce and bankruptcy, Popovich said.

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