Massachusetts Divorce Law Monitor : Massachusetts Divorce Lawyer & Attorney : Nancy Van Tine : Burns & Levinson Law Firm : MA Divorce & Family Law : Massachusetts Divorce Law Monitor

Hi there,

Coming up this Thursday is the oral argument before the Federal Court in the GLAD challenge to the Federal Defense of Marriage Act.

I am someone who is strongly (fervently) in favor of gay marriage.  Single sex adoption has been around for a long time and I had thought that the successful challenge for gay marriage would come when someone argued that the adoptive children of gay parents had a right to have their parents be able to marry. 

The Goodridge Case was to me, a fair and necessary decision AND the only court decision I ever read that made me teary-eyed.  As a practitioner, I have been dealing with the unequal results of the interface between the Federal and State law ever since.  It is clearly a major issue in other states too.

The Commonwealth also has a challenge to DOMA winding its way through the Federal Court system.

I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Best,

Nancy

Update (5.06.10) - Learn more about the DOMA hearing in an article I was quoted in this morning.

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Hi there,

According to the New York Times, the highest court in New York will hear arguments on whether or not New York will honor marriages between gay and lesbian couples that are legal elsewhere.

I was taught in law school that the constitution requires states to give "full faith and credit" to the laws of other jurisdictions, such as marriage, adoptions, etc.  The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) complicates the situation, as federal law trumps state law, so states have an argument available if they do not recognize gay marriages which are legal elsewhere, as legitimate.

As usual, Daniel Clement had a very good post on this as well.

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there,

I have written a number of posts on gay marriage, but I haven't posted an in-depth analysis of the issues that should be considered by a gay couple before they walk down the aisle. 

My colleague, Lisa Cukier interviewed me for an article in Boston Spirit magazine which does provide more detail than the posts have.

Enjoy the weekend.

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there,

Since we learned yesterday that Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is filing a law suit against the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), speculations have been flying about what this means and what will happen. The lawsuit questions the constitutionality of Section 3 of the law, which defines the word "marriage" as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife."

Why?
We just celebrated the 5 year anniversary of allowing same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. Since then, at least 4 other states (Maine, Vermont, Connecticut and Iowa) have legalized gay marriage. Even though gay marriage is recognized in these states, it is still not recognized at the federal level.  This causes problems on many levels – taxes and adoption of children to name just two. According to the Boston Globe, “The suit filed in US District Court in Boston claims that the Congress, in enacting the DOMA, ‘overstepped its authority, undermined states' efforts to recognize marriages between same-sex couples, and codified an animus towards gay and lesbian people.’”

Issues
Gay and lesbian married couples struggle with very different tax treatment as the federal government, the main taxing authority, doesn't recognize gay marriage due to DOMA.
Due to the current regulations under DOMA, we have to approach gay divorce with a very different analysis then divorce between a straight couple both because of the very complex tax implications and the issue of what is the actual length of the marriage (one of the critical factors in setting support and dividing property).

So I am delighted to see that Attorney General Coakley has done this.  It will be fascinating to see what happens,

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there,

It is exciting to see the New England states recognizing the fairness of allowing gay folks to marry. It is a huge step and where people can marry they also inevitably will pay taxes and some of them will later divorce.  In these areas much inequity still remains.

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) impacts the income tax and divorce tax status of gay couples regardless of whether or not they are legally married.

They cannot file federal income taxes as married filing jointly; when, and if, they divorce any transfers of property between them are taxable events, as they are not for heterosexual couples, and there is no deduction for alimony.

All of these are costly, but still it is terrific to have another state recognize gay marriage.

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there,

Since last week I have been thinking about the legal implications of the gay marriage decision in Vermont and found that it raises more questions than I had initially considered.  These relate specifically to the impact of marriage on a state which allowed civil unions.  This raises the issue of will the civil union be deemed a marriage thus increasing the length of the marriage and having impact upon divorce on all sorts of issues from custody thru finances?  There also may be issues because if the state now treats civil unions as marriages then if one party to the civil union marries someone else without dissolving the civil union, is that bigamy?

Clearly this will be very complex and interesting as it unfolds.

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there,

Great News from Vermont - gay marriage is now legal! I know this can be a political hot button, but ever since I read the Goodridge decision (PDF) which made Massachusetts the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage, I have been proud to hail from Massachusetts. Vermonters can now feel the same pride.

Tell me what you think.

Best,
Nancy

 

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