As we know all too well, not everyone gets to experience their fairytale romance ending. Even though overall divorce rates in America are decreasing each year, "happily ever after" turns into shattered dreams for many couples, including same-sex married couples. In New York, the divorce between a same-sex couple is treated the same way as it is for an opposite-sex couple. Legal divorce documents must be filed through either contested, uncontested, or mediated methods. As with opposite-sex couples, only one spouse needs to file divorce papers, and at least one spouse needs to have lived in New York for a period of one year.
As some same-sex couples are finding out, divorce can be as difficult as marriage, if not more so. In fact, if you do an online search for "gay divorce lawyers", you will simply find a lot of gay family lawyers. However, gay/LGBT family law lawyers are now becoming much better equipped to help with same-sex divorce procedures as divorce rates for same-sex couples are on the rise.
Issue That Same-sex Couples Must Settle On
As is the case with heterosexual married couples, same-sex couples who are filing for a divorce must settle on a handful of major issues. In order to legally separate, couples need to come to an agreement on the following issues:
- Sharing of debt
- Distribution of assets
- Child support
- Child custody
- Visitation arrangements with children
- Spousal support
- There are 594,000 same-sex couples in the U.S
- There are 169,000 registered domestic partners
- 152,000 (25.7 percent) spouses int he country reside in in same-sex households
- 115,000 of these 594,000 same-sex couples have children in their household
- Eighty-nine percent of the 115,000 are the biological children of either partner
- LGBT individuals
- Same-sex couples
- Someone wanting to adopt their same-sex partner's children
- Someone wanting to adopt children of the relationship
- Adoption
- Surrogacy
- Custody agreements
- Child support
- Divorce
- Spousal support / maintenance award
Why Gay & LGBT Family Law is Complex
You may be wondering if family law is more complex for the LGBTQ community. The frustrating but true answer is it depends. For married gay or lesbian couples, issues like divorce and custody agreements are not necessarily more complex than those a male-female couple would experience. But for matters like adoption, LGBTQ couples may experience difficult legal battles as many adoption agencies are faith-based, and some religions oppose LGBTQ rights. Another issue is where an LGBTQ family lives. States have different laws that define parents and if your family is spread out, your case could become complicated.There are laws to protect you and your family
For LGBTQ families in Manhattan, New York provides many laws that protect same-sex couples, unmarried or married, when it comes to your family, your safety and your rights.Laws to help build your LGBTQ family
Growing your family is an exciting process. And you have many options to start a family that are protected under the law, including:- Using assisted reproductive technology
- Adopting a child
- Hiring a surrogate
- Fostering a child
Protection of LGBTQ children
If you child is gay, lesbian or transgender, they are also provided with protection under the law. The Dignity Actensures a "safe and supportive" learning environment for LGBTQ kids.Child support and custody agreements
Decisions on how much child support will be paid or how a custody agreement works are made on a factual basis. For child support, a judge will consider the income of both parties and the cost of supporting your child. For custody agreements, a judge will consider the child's relationship with each parent and the care the child will receive from each parent, among other things.Spousal support or maintenance awards
If you are going through a divorce and petitioning for spousal support (also known as a "maintenance award"), the court will consider many factors, including:- Income of both parties
- How each party will support themselves post-divorce
- If a spouse doesn't work, the likelihood of the spouse becoming employed