The recent Supreme Court decision that legalized same sex marriage nationwide also made it a lot easier for those married couples to file their taxes.

"Everything has been simplified. There's no such thing as same sex married couples, there's just married couples,” says Janis Cowhey, Partner at Marcum LLP.

Prior to the ruling, those couples residing or working in one of the 13 states that did not allow same sex marriage were forced to jump through many hoops at tax time. They would file jointly at the federal level but then file single returns in the state that did not recognize their union.

"So it was very complicated, and all state returns are based on your federal return - so you ended up having to do a dummy set of returns just to get your state set of returns done," Cowhey explains.

Those dummy returns are now done away with, along with some other extra calculations.

"You don't have to trace your deductions out.  You don't have to see who owned the real estate, who paid the taxes, who paid the mortgage. You can look at things as a family unit," Cowhey says.

And not just financially. Legally, too.

"You are now the next of kin in all 50 states,” Cowhey says. “You can't be disinherited. You have to be named as a beneficiary of the 401k,”

And you can inherit property and assets from your spouse without having to pay taxes on them.

Of course there were ways to protect your spouse and your wealth prior to the decision but it required a lot more planning. Cowhey, who heads up the modern family and LGBT Practice Group at Marcum, says now is a good time to review the plans you made prior to the ruling and trim out what is no longer needed.

"Look over all those documents: your wills; your life insurance. Some people had more life insurance than they needed because they were worried about estate taxes. That might not be necessary anymore," she says.

Unfortunately, what is still necessary, she says, is being diligent. There is always a lag between a ruling and its implementation, so don't assume this is all automatic.

"We've heard some of the governors come out and say, ‘We may not comply with the rules.’ There's going to be clerks who are not going to comply with the rules," Cowhey says.

Her advice:  carry your important documents - living will, healthcare proxy, power of attorney and even a copy of your marriage license - with you on a flash drive, especially if you are traveling, just in case of emergencies.