
There was the $1,500 to change their surnames, for instance, the $1,400 or so in taxes they paid annually for additional health benefits, and the $1,000 they spent so one could adopt the biological child of the other.

''For all of this, you need to hire an attorney, or you find out the hard way,'' said Lucy Vandenberg, 37, the director of the state's Council on Affordable Housing.
