Southern California Family Law Attorney Blog

There are several states in the country that allow same-sex couples to be married legally, while many others are in the process of enacting laws that define how marriage and divorce should be interpreted under the law. One of the main concerns in California for these people who have been in a domestic partnership with someone of the same sex is the benefits they feel they should be given from the partner’s employer, and this concern is particularly important when the partner is employed by the state government.

In neighboring state Arizona, courts lifted an injunction they felt was discriminatory against same-sex couples. The state hopes to win an appeal that would allow them to terminate the benefits that are being offered to same-sex couples as a result of the court’s order.

Because same-sex domestic partners are unable to be married in Arizona, the court felt discrimination was involved with the injunction that defined marriage in the state as between a man and a woman, and ruled that dependents of the employee should be offered benefits. The state claims the attempts to revoke benefits from gay couples were made in order to make up for budget deficits.

The marriage situation between two people of the same sex can be even more complicated when the relationship ends and the partners are looking to dissolve the partnership, because laws defining marriage may not be clear, and divorce may not be obtained in a state where same sex marriage is illegal. Any person who has been in a domestic partnership who feels their rights are violated by the law, and feel they should be offered the benefits given to a heterosexual couple may benefit from meeting with an attorney.

Source: Florence Reminder & Blade-Tribune, "State offers benefits under court injunction," Christina Sampson, May 2, 2013