Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Same Sex Couples May Have Estate Planning Concerns Before Marriage Too. ~ Legal Pub

One of the comments on Legal Pub article asked about estate planning for same sex unions. Rather then address the issue in the original article, same sex unions and their dissolution are given their own article. Ever since gay couples struggled to marry or form civil unions, the problems with breakups began to rear its ugly head. For example, Rhode Island's top state court ruled that gays married in Massachusetts (where the state allows same sex marriages) cannot get divorced in Rhode Island. Currently, Missouri litigation is considering whether a lesbian married in Massachusetts can get an annulment in the show me state.

Massachusetts appears to be the only state where gay marriage is legal. However, nine other states allow same sex couples to enter into civil unions or domestic partnerships. The majority of these states require any such union to be legally dissolved. Same sex couples that move to another state seem to have the most problems with dissolving their union. While it is not clear how many gay couples have sought a dissolution, one would hypothesize that Legal Pubs Article concerning estate planning for second marriage would provide a good beginning to plan for such a same sex union. LINK. However, as always, consult with a local lawyers before you make any decisions.

In Massachusetts, more than 10,000 same-sex couples have married since 2004. Estimates are that probably more than 100 gay divorces have been granted in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, no good statistics are kept as to "gay couple divorces." The divorce rate among gays may be lower than heterosexuals because many same-sex couples were together many years before their marriage in Massachusetts .

Vermont apparently has dissolved 2 percent of its 8,666 civil unions. Divorce may be most difficult in the 40 states that have explicitly banned or limited same-sex unions.
Oregon may have an answer. They allow same sex couples to dissolve their union in Oregon even if the parties move out of state. This solution may not work if one of the parties who moves to another state refuses to recognize the jurisdiction of Oregon.

Church leaders in the Roman Catholic Church generally oppose same sex unions. Rev. Bernard Healey, is an example of a Catholic lobbyist.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank You! Kind of surprising that you funny but conservative religious supporting folks allowed this topic. Again, sincerely, thank you for bringing our problems out of the closet into the light.

Bertha

colleency said...

My motto: Human rights for human beings.

(marriage is a human right.)

Did You Stop to Think? said...

This stuff always cracks me up. I barely have enough time to live my own life w/out deciding how someone else should live theirs. Where do all these busy bodies come from?

Ms Calabaza said...

Colleency,
I second that!

Anonymous said...

Is it a religious issue? What would the pope say.

Two things controversial

1. You appear to say same sex unions are o.k.

2. You seem to say divorce, of any kind is o.k.

Legal Pub, moral right is moral right. Both 1 and 2 are wrong.



Jimmy J.

Legal Pub said...

Not our intent nor role to judge

Anonymous said...

Thanks for giving our community something that we can use!


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