The Supreme Court has helped America by recognizing same sex marriages. The reason I say that is that de facto same-sex marriages have been going on for many years, but the laws in most states previously had to deal with them under partnership law and not marital law. (Obviously a same sex marriage is also referred to as a gay marriage.) For instance, you couldn’t include someone of the same sex on your medical insurance prior to the recognition of a marriage or a domestic partnership; that’s only happened in the last few years. In Texas, it’s only been the last few months. It means an increase in recognition of equality of all people who want to be married and that will eventually mean equality in the occasional divorce, as well. There are basically only two ways for a marriage to end; either in the big D, which is death; or the little d, which is divorce, and it’s about half and half of each.
What Are the Divorce Options Available To Same Sex Couples?
In Texas, it’s still an open question. We know that gay marriages are recognized, but the question in Texas revolves around common law marriage; if we recognize it now, does it go back to the inception; did a common law gay marriage begin years ago or is it limited to being a marriage that began as of June 26, 2015; that hasn’t been addressed by the courts, so we don’t know the answer to that. There’ll be two sides of the issue, of course; one side will say it began the first day they declared their love for each other, and the other will claim it only goes back to the date of the Supreme Court decision.
There also is the issue of other states’ gay marriage; until the Supreme Court told us we had to, Texas assiduously resisted recognition of a gay marriage from another state, been very punitive, but very clear here in Texas, to the point of having a constitutional amendment saying that a marriage was only between a man and a woman.
Using the Bruce Jenner/Caitlyn Jenner thing, I don’t know how that would work, since she was once a man and is now a woman and what the deal would be if that happened during the marriage; I don’t know. It’s an evolving, interesting area of the law, but the fundamental precept here is that now there is recognized equality under the law, instead of having an underclass of people who previously didn’t have the right to be married. So gay married people can now get a divorce in Texas
For more information on Impact of Same-Sex Marriages, an initial consultation is your best next step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling (214) 880-7500 today.
