Information and Insight for People Struggling with Divorce and Family Law Matters
Today the New Hampshire House voted to approve HB 0436, which would legalize gay marriage in New Hampshire, by a vote of 186 to 179. The bill also includes provisions allowing clergy the freedom to determine whether or not to marry a gay couple. The bill will now move to the Senate for debate and vote.
Governor…
This week the New Hampshire House will vote on HB 436, a bill that would legalize same sex marriage in New Hampshire and allow any civil unioned couples to obtain the legal status of marriage. Currently, Massachusetts and Connecticut are the only states that allow same sex marriage. Several states, including New Hampshire, allow same sex…
Although the country’s attention was, for the most part, focused upon the presidential election on November 4th, there were several ballot questions across the country regarding same-sex marriage. The most high profile was Proposition 8 in California, a ballot measure that passed and amended the state constitution to define marriage as between one…
Today the Connecticut Supreme Court overturned the state’s ban on same-sex marriage in Kerrigan v. Commisioner of Public Health. Four years ago, eight same-sex couples sued the state of Connecticut, arguing that the statutory prohibition against same-sex marriage violated their rights to substantive due process and equal protection under the state constitution. The…
When the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued the Goodridge decision legalizing same-sex marriage in the Commonwealth, many people inside and outside the state became concerned about couples coming from other states to marry in Massachusetts. In the first few days of same-sex marriage, marriage licenses were issued to non-residents, and have resulted in decisions such…
Today the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued an opinion in the case of Charron v. Amaral that held that marriage benefits for same-sex couples do not apply retroactively to the Goodridge v. Department of Public Health decision.
The case involves a couple, Michelle Charron and Cynthia Kalish, who began dating in 1990, moved in…
Today the California Supreme Court struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage in a 4-3 ruling. The court’s ruling stated that “the legal issue we must resolve is not whether it would be constitutionally permissible under the California Constitution for the state to limit marriage only to opposite-sex couples while denying same-sex couples any…
As tax season is now behind us, many same-sex couples may have discovered that same-sex couples often pay higher taxes because they are not entitled to federal tax benefits regularly given to married couples. Additionally, same-sex couples must file separate federal returns and in most states, separate state returns. States that recognize civil unions or marriage…
