If you are in a same-sex marriage that is not working out like you had planned, you and your partner might decide to get divorced. Same-sex divorces often have different issues than divorces with traditional married couples, and this is why choosing a collaborative divorce might be the best way to go. Here are two things to understand about this.
What is a collaborative divorce?
A collaborative divorce is one in which the couple works together to determine how to divide everything when they end their relationship. With this, each of you must hire an attorney. All four of you will then meet to discuss how to make the divisions. This type of divorce can also be used with traditional couples, but it tends to work well with same-same couples too.
The benefit is that you and your partner will get to make all the decisions, which eliminates the need for a judge to get involved. You may also be able to get out of going to court when using a collaborative divorce. The attorneys will draw up the agreement and send it to the court to get a judge's signature. After this happens, your divorce will be complete.
What conflicts can occur with same-sex divorces?
While all states are now required to recognize and accept same-sex marriages, it was not always like this. Because of this, some states would not allow divorces for same-sex couples, because these states did not recognize that these couples were even married. While this is no longer an issue, there are several other things that can be problematic with same-sex divorces.
The main issue same-sex couples can have during a divorce is determining legal ownership of assets. If you live in a state that just recently accepted same-sex marriages as legal entities, you could encounter a problem. The state might not recognize joint ownership of assets purchased prior to the Supreme Court's ruling that all states must allow same-sex marriage.
Because of this, using a collaborative divorce can be better. If your divorce is contested and a judge must decide how to divide things up, the results might not be fair for one of you. Problems with child-custody issues can also develop in a same-sex divorce if kids are involved.
If you are in a same-sex marriage and are ready to call it quits, you may want to talk to a divorce attorney like Andrew H P Norton for advice. This is a great way to find out your options and rights. To learn more, contact a divorce attorney today.
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