Fri Feb 08, 2008 at 09:58:29 PM EST
|
Last week, a Gloucester County Court took up the issue of divorce for same sex couples. From a Family Law Blog...Some 5,000 gay and lesbian couples in New Jersey have registered as domestic partners, and many have yet to form a civil union under more recent state law. So what happens to their property if they decide to break up? This week Gloucester County Judge John Tomasello ruled in a case believed to the first of its kind that there should be an equitable distribution of assets in the same way assets would be distributed in the divorce of a married couple. Furthermore, recognizing the special circumstances of gay couples who often had years-long committed relationships before being permitted to legally formalize them, the Judge dated the period of equitable distribution to the formation of the couple in 1999 rather than the establishment of the domestic partnership soon after the enabling law came into effect in 2004. When I saw this decision, to my untrained eyes it look pretty significant and now I see this analysis on another legal blog today...This case is important in terms of the court's consideration of the entire span of a committed same sex relationship, since no legal recognition was available until 2004. Can anyone with more knowledge of the issue tell me if this ruling is as significant as it appears to be? It looks to me that the court took the side that just because the state waited to pass Domestic Partnerships and Civil Unions, doesn't mean that same sex couples should be penalized in divorce proceedings and that their prior time together in a committed relationship should be a factor much the same as it is for a married couple seeking a divorce. I'm not a lawyer and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but that seems kinda big to me. |
| Jason Springer :: Did a Gloucester County Court change the rules for Same-Sex Couples? |
|
|
Featured Stories  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
