Because of the patchwork way that laws emerged for gay, lesbian and queer couples, undoing a marriage or domestic partnership can present many unique challenges. For example, certain states like Kentucky, explicitly do not recognize unions similar to marriage such as civil unions or registered domestic partnership.
So, while the recent supreme court decisions finds an ultimate right to marry, it has not found an ultimate right to a domestic partnership or civil union. The bizarre result of this is if you are getting divorced in Kentucky there is a chance that the judge in Kentucky will not dissolve your registered domestic partnership.
Thankfully, California has law that any party may file in the state to dissolve a registered domestic partnership or marriage if their home jurisdiction will not recognize them. While California’s progressive laws certainly reduce the number of issues that might come up in a same sex divorce or dissolution it cannot eliminate them all.
Than San Francisco based lawyers of Jones & Devoy have experience helping members of the LGBT community navigate the ever changing landscape of same sex law.
