Even when neither spouse possesses a massive fortune, a prenuptial agreement can be a smart way to clarify financial terms should the marriage end in divorce. In cases where there is a vast wealth discrepancy among prospective spouses, the urgency to complete a prenup becomes stronger. Still, some people choose not to execute an agreement prior to being wed, possibly…
Many same-sex married couples and LGBTQ advocacy groups have questioned whether the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade might be used to threaten their legal status. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the court ruled that there is no right to abortion under the Constitution, giving states the power to ban the medical procedure within their borders. Some might…
On April 17, 2019 the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division for the Second Department upheld a Decision by the Family Court which gives standing to a same sex parent who is seeking custody and visitation. Justice Thomas A. Rademaker presided over a case in March, 2018 as a Nassau County Family Court Judge. Justice Rademaker is now a Supreme…
As of late June 2016, it had been one year since Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples had the fundamental right to get married in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. There was a record number of marriages in the last year as a result, but also other statistics that would…
Kelly Gunn (left) and Circe Hamilton PHOTO: New York Post, Julia Marsh, September 2, 2016 A recent ruling from the New York State Court of Appeals has determined that an unmarried partner that is the non-biological, non-adoptive partner in a same sex marriage can be entitled to parenting rights over a child raised in the relationship under certain circumstances. This…
As of late February, 37 states now have legalized gay marriage. Of those 37, 26 legalized it by court decision, eight (including New York) by a vote in the state legislature and three by popular vote. States not yet allowing gay marriage are as follows: Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and…
New York passed the Marriage Equality Act in 2011, which allowed for the marriage of same-sex couples throughout the state. However, one couple soon found that there were some unusual circumstances surrounding child custody during New York same-sex divorces. Now one woman is left scrambling to figure out how to have access to her adopted child. When the couple initially…
The Monroe County Supreme Court recently affirmed same-sex spouses are both parents to a child born during their marriage. The state of New York, when appropriate, seeks to legitimatize the parenthood of two people who are parents to a child of their marriage. In this case, the birth mother of a child born into a same-sex marriage sought to exclude…
Two more states have joined others, including New York, in legalizing same-sex marriage. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned portions of the Defense of Marriage Act, several states have legalized same-sex marriage or chosen not to oppose court decisions that authorize marriage between two persons of the same gender. In May, Pennsylvania and Oregon followed suit in what can only…
On Monday, October 21, 2013, vows were heard up and down the Jersey coast as same-sex couples gained the right to legal marriage. Although same-sex marriage was legalized in New Jersey in 2012, Governor Chris Christie opposed the measure, only withdrawing his objections when the Supreme Court of New Jersey denied further delay of the measure. New Jersey became the…