Global Family Law Services
Nearly a year ago the Supreme Court of the United States issued its landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. This decision was the culmination of six different lawsuits from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee, involved multiple same-sex couples, several children, a widower, a funeral director, and an adoption agency, and came after years of appeals in multiple federal courts. Until…
On June 28, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 577 U.S. ____ (2015), Docket No. 14-556. This decision was the culmination of six different lawsuits from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee, involving multiple same-sex couples, several children, a widower, a funeral director, and an adoption agency. Both before and after…
There once was a couple who during a beautiful ceremony in a friendly locale swore to be together until death pulled them apart. After their marriage they went back home and purchased a house and a couple of cars. They took trips and bought furniture. This couple even had kids and spent more money than they ever dreamed they could.…
As many gay celebrities poise to marry after the US Supreme Court declared the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) unconstitutional last month, Jane Lynch and wife Dr. Lara Embry, who were married in 2010 in Sunderland, Massachusetts, are preparing to divorce. The question is, will their home state of California allow them to dissolve their marriage? While Lynch and…
As you know if you’ve gone online, turned on your television or radio, or even picked up a newspaper recently, the issue of same sex marriage is a particularly hot topic right now. But it’s not a new issue, to be certain. And, in a relatively short period of time – from the Clinton administration to the Obama administration –…
Effective July 24, 2011, New York will join the small but growing list of states that explicitly recognize and permit same-sex marriages. Many lawmakers and members of the general public remain opposed to same-sex marriage, but New York’s decision suggests that wider acceptance may be on the horizon. Within any random sample of couples a certain percentage will choose to…
People like to talk about principle. Clients will often walk through our doors and say that “the principle is worth fighting for, regardless of the cost.” And some principles really are worth fighting for. But is this always true? Does principle always outweigh the cost? Consider same-sex marriage. People have all sorts of principles that make them either for or…
On September 21, 1996 President Bill Clinton signed into law the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA.”) The DOMA is short – its effective sections contain fewer than 150 words. Yet those few words make a monumental impact on the lives of millions of United States citizens. First, the DOMA defines a “marriage” as a legal union between one man and…