California Courts Open to Out of State Same Sex Divorces ?

According to a recent article out of state residents may be soon able to file for divorce in California. One of the legal obstacles facing same sex partners is the lack of access to courts to dissolve their relationship once the partnership ends.

Apparently in states like Texas, Oklahoma, Rhode Island judges have refused to grant divorces to lesbian or gay couples who went elsewhere to get married or have relocated with the reasoning that granting a divorce would constitute a form of official recognition of their marriage. Most of the couples were not asking a judge to grant them any property or support based upon their marriage, but just wanted to receive an order of dissolution.

The legal origin of these problems stems from what is referred to as the "domicile" rule, which means couples can only get divorced in the state in which they reside at the time of their break-up, regardless of where they lived when they got married. While this makes sense for heterosexual couples because they can receive a divorce in whatever state they live in, it doesn’t make sense for homosexual couples who can’t get divorced if they live in a state that won’t allow it.

California legislature has very recently passed a bill that can help couples who came to California in 2008 to get married, as well as those who marry in California in the future if Prop. 8 is repealed.

According to the article, starting on January 2012. If a couple got married in California but lives in a state that won't grant them a divorce, basically then California court will have jurisdiction to grant a dissolution. The divorce can proceed in the county where they got married.

If there are any legal questions you may have, I encourage you to, please contact my San Jose Divorce Lawyers office. My San Jose Family Lawyer offices assists many people who are going through family law related issues. We have many Affordable San Jose Divorce Lawyer solutions for many different budgets. We help many individuals through this very chaotic period in their life. Proudly serving the following cities, Fremont, Milpitas, Los Gatos, Cupertino, Mountain View, and Santa Clara.