Unfortunately, just like heterosexual couples, many same-sex couples will experience a disintegrating marriage and will need a divorce as a result. Although same-sex couples face the same sorts of issues and challenges that heterosexual divorcing couples do, there are particular and additional matters that same sex couples may need to address.
If you are preparing to go through a divorce from your same-sex spouse, you should be aware that there may be additional tax and other consequences not faced by heterosexual couples. Other important differences can include health insurance, property division and child custody. If your spouse is a federal employee, there may be a question of your entitlement to any federal retirement benefits. Thus, in order to protect your rights, you may need to negotiate with your spouse to obtain a fair settlement.
When your spouse has a child as to who you are neither the biological or adoptive parent, you may be able to continue your relationship with the child through seeking a child custody or visitation order from the court. Courts often grant these requests if you have formed a strong parental relationship with your spouse’s child.
We are dedicated to assisting our same-sex clients throughout the divorce process. We understand the particular types of tax consequences and other issues that same-sex divorces may involve, and we are often able to negotiate on behalf of our clients to ensure our clients are able to get a fair agreement. When a same-sex couple has a child, we fight to help a client obtain visitation with the child or custody of the child depending on the child’s and the client’s needs and desires. For more information about these types of matters, you are invited to visit our same-sex divorce page.