Family Law Issues | translabyrinth

Hi! I?m GF, i.e. M?s girlfriend. I?m a law student and not as funny as M ;) I wanted to kick off by mentioning some legal issues that are often ignored in favor of issues such as employment discrimination and marriage equality. You may notice a disclaimer in all of my posts (see below). Just to emphasize, I am not a lawyer, and this article is NOT legal advice. Please don?t make any important life decisions based solely on what you read in a blog. That?s generally not a good idea.

Disclaimer: I am not a licensed attorney or lawyer. In accordance with ABA policy, this article is not legal advice. In fact, nothing on this site is for the purpose of providing legal advice. This site is for informational purposes only, and what I write only reflects my experiences and opinion. I am not advertising legal services. Nothing on this site is intended to create a lawyer-client relationship. If you have any questions, you should speak to a licensed attorney.

Now that that is out of the way, on to the article.

Same-Sex Divorce
Marriage equality can be a romantic topic, but an increasing, albeit more depressing problem is same-sex divorces. Most issues involving family law (which includes marriage, adoption, etc.) are left to the states, not the federal government, resulting in fifty different types of law. This means that if same-sex marriage is not recognized in a state, same-sex divorce is also (often) not recognized. So if a couple marries in New York or Iowa, and then moves to North Carolina, and wants to divorce, they are out of luck.

Often, this couple can?t even travel back to these more progressive states, because many states have residency requirements ? sometimes up to a year ? before allowing a divorce. This leaves separated same-sex couples in a legal limbo, wondering about issues such as property, custody, and whether they can even get married again without running afoul of polygamy bans. NPR wrote a great article last year called ?Gay divorce a higher hurdle than marriage? about this problem. Something to think about for any couple about to take the plunge.

Same-Sex Domestic Violence
I first heard about the problems prosecuting same-sex domestic violence when another law student told me about a case she had observed in court. A man had accused his partner, another man, of domestic violence. Before the case could start, the defense attorney told the victim that if he testified to a same-sex romantic relationship, the victim could be prosecuted for violations of sodomy prohibitions. While the prosecutor tried to convince the victim that anti-sodomy laws were unconstitutional and not enforceable, the victim was so frightened that he refused to testify and the case was dismissed. Besides dealing with these sorts of trial ?tactics,? communities are often ill-equipped to handle same-sex domestic violence. Local shelters, police officers, and prosecutors may not have the training to understand the unique issues that same-sex couples face, such as being ?outed? in the course on an investigation, or may minimize the reported assault, by telling a man that he should have fought back against his partner, or not believing a woman that says she was hit by her female partner, because women don?t commit domestic assaults. This article talks about the problems LBGT victims of domestic violence have in Santa Clara County, California, and is a great read.

Even with supportive community resources, LGBT domestic violence victims may be completely barred from the increased protections that married victims receive, including protective orders. After an anti-equality marriage amendment was passed in Ohio, several Ohio judges dismissed domestic violence charges, because, based on the language of the ban, ALL unmarried couples were now unprotected by domestic violence laws. The Ohio Supreme Court overruled this decision, but poorly worded marriage bans could still have an effect in other states. Regardless, many states do not provide for or allow LGBT domestic violence victims the same protections as those involved in opposite-sex relationships. See this chart for information about domestic violence protections by state, although the laws in this area may change rapidly.

For more on this topic, and for some interesting statistics on domestic violence and same-sex couples, see this Autostraddle article.

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