Understanding Gay Divorce

UNEQUAL Marriage Equality Laws CAUSE COMPLICATIONS Same-sex marriage is legal in 6 states and Washington, D.C. 1 YEAR OF EFFECTIVE RECOGNITION FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE lowa Vermont New York 2009 200 9 20|1 New Hampshire 20 09 Massachusetts 2004 Connecticut 2 008 District of Columbia 2 010 STATE OF S A ME SEX MARRIAGE If these states allow marriage, how many gay couples are getting married? Here's a snapshot to give you an idea: NUMBER OF MARRIAGES 20 16.129 15 8.091 10 4.616 3,500 2.099 1.425 986 D.C. (2010) Vermont (2010) (2011- 12009-20 *Data covers Jun 2011 to Feb 2012 Same-sex couples tend to favor marriage over other union options. 1 In the first year their states allowed: Same-sex marriage Civil union or broad Legal relationship statuses with limited rights domestic partnership 30% 18% 8% ONLY of couples got married of couples entered into this legal status entered into this status STATE OF S A ME SEX DIVORCES There's no residency requirement to get married in the states that allow same-sex marriage. But what happens if the couples want to divorce and they're in a state that doesn't recognize the marriage? (31 Some states that don't allow same-sex marriage won't grant divorces for same-sex couples that married in another state. DIVORCE WHY DOES THIS POSE A PROBLEM FOR GAY COUPLES? Neither spouse could get married or enter a civil union with another person. They could face bigamy charges. Someone would have to become a resident of the state he/she was married in to get the divorce Residency requirements mean living in the state anywhere from O 6 MONTHS TO 2 YEARS. But there are general issues when same-sex couples try to get divorced, as well. Retirement packages aren't easily divided. The Federal Government DOESN'T RECOGNIZE same-sex marriage. Tax issues arise because the IRS doesn't have guidelines, 14) It's difficult to legally determine the length of the marriage. 1,2,3? Couples could have been together before same-sex marriage was legal, making it hard to measure how many years "count" toward marriage. Length is important to determine because it is used by the courts to figure out how to split the property. The legal process of divorce mandated by each state is meant to compel exes to seek fairness in their dealings with one another. 151 Child support This is done to protect the less well-off spouse and any children the couple may have by requiring: Alimony Maintenance payments Even though some states allow same-sex marriage, the difficulties around same-sex divorce raises some legitimate questions: What will be done in the future to legally protect gay spouses? SOURCES Itotal divorce" [1] http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Marriage-Dissolution-FINAL.pdf (2] http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-06-24/new-york-same-sex-marriage /55783432/1 [3] http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/07/living/same-sex-divorce-marriage/index.html [4] http://www.npr.org/2011/07/20/137674268/gay-divorce-a-higher-hurdle-than-marriage [5] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/sunday-review/03divorce.html?pagewanted=all ---------- Massachus (2004-2009) 2012)* Conneci (2008-2010) (2009-2010) 2010) New Hampshire UNEQUAL Marriage Equality Laws CAUSE COMPLICATIONS Same-sex marriage is legal in 6 states and Washington, D.C. 1 YEAR OF EFFECTIVE RECOGNITION FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE lowa Vermont New York 2009 200 9 20|1 New Hampshire 20 09 Massachusetts 2004 Connecticut 2 008 District of Columbia 2 010 STATE OF S A ME SEX MARRIAGE If these states allow marriage, how many gay couples are getting married? Here's a snapshot to give you an idea: NUMBER OF MARRIAGES 20 16.129 15 8.091 10 4.616 3,500 2.099 1.425 986 D.C. (2010) Vermont (2010) (2011- 12009-20 *Data covers Jun 2011 to Feb 2012 Same-sex couples tend to favor marriage over other union options. 1 In the first year their states allowed: Same-sex marriage Civil union or broad Legal relationship statuses with limited rights domestic partnership 30% 18% 8% ONLY of couples got married of couples entered into this legal status entered into this status STATE OF S A ME SEX DIVORCES There's no residency requirement to get married in the states that allow same-sex marriage. But what happens if the couples want to divorce and they're in a state that doesn't recognize the marriage? (31 Some states that don't allow same-sex marriage won't grant divorces for same-sex couples that married in another state. DIVORCE WHY DOES THIS POSE A PROBLEM FOR GAY COUPLES? Neither spouse could get married or enter a civil union with another person. They could face bigamy charges. Someone would have to become a resident of the state he/she was married in to get the divorce Residency requirements mean living in the state anywhere from O 6 MONTHS TO 2 YEARS. But there are general issues when same-sex couples try to get divorced, as well. Retirement packages aren't easily divided. The Federal Government DOESN'T RECOGNIZE same-sex marriage. Tax issues arise because the IRS doesn't have guidelines, 14) It's difficult to legally determine the length of the marriage. 1,2,3? Couples could have been together before same-sex marriage was legal, making it hard to measure how many years "count" toward marriage. Length is important to determine because it is used by the courts to figure out how to split the property. The legal process of divorce mandated by each state is meant to compel exes to seek fairness in their dealings with one another. 151 Child support This is done to protect the less well-off spouse and any children the couple may have by requiring: Alimony Maintenance payments Even though some states allow same-sex marriage, the difficulties around same-sex divorce raises some legitimate questions: What will be done in the future to legally protect gay spouses? SOURCES Itotal divorce" [1] http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Marriage-Dissolution-FINAL.pdf (2] http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-06-24/new-york-same-sex-marriage /55783432/1 [3] http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/07/living/same-sex-divorce-marriage/index.html [4] http://www.npr.org/2011/07/20/137674268/gay-divorce-a-higher-hurdle-than-marriage [5] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/sunday-review/03divorce.html?pagewanted=all ---------- Massachus (2004-2009) 2012)* Conneci (2008-2010) (2009-2010) 2010) New Hampshire