Feels like 'winning the lottery'
Janet and Janet Emery-Black
Nampa, Idaho
The couple: Known to their friends as "Janet squared," the Emery-Blacks met 25 years ago when they worked at Hewlett-Packard, and have been together ever since. Same-sex marriage isn't recognized in their home state of Idaho, so they got married in California in 2008 during the limited window of time that it was legal.
Financial impact: While one Janet, 59, is retired due to rheumatoid arthritis, the other, 55, runs a consulting firm. Because of the difference in their incomes, the Emery-Blacks expect to save more than $10,000 per year in income tax now that they are able to file jointly.
They also plan to amend their taxes for the past three years to try to get back the additional money they paid the IRS when they weren't able to file jointly. Doing so could result in a windfall of more than $30,000.
"Just to be recognized and feel normal means so much," Janet said about Wednesday's DOMA ruling. "I never thought it would happen in our lifetime -- it's almost like winning the lottery ... you keep thinking 'what if?' And then it happens, and you're on cloud nine."
