This blog may be considered "advertising" under Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rule 7.2. The Contents of this blog is for informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice. This blog does not establish an attorney-client relationship.
Contact Info
Infinity Law Group LLC
One Adams Place
Suite 400
Quincy, MA 02169
The education hoax causes a lot of people to go to college and graduate school who perhaps wouldn’t have benefited from the experience. We all aspire for our kids to be college graduates and lawyers and doctors, but truth is, not every child is cut out for college or graduate school. And when we push them into it, are we really doing them a disservice?
Forbes magazine recently published an article linking the eduction hoax directly to the breakdown of a couple’s marriage. The stress of having over $190,000 in student loans from law school, was simply too much strain to place on their marriage. So, like the majority of divorced couples in the United States, the couple divorced over money.
If a gay or lesbian couple joins together in marriage in either Massachusetts, California or Connecticut, they can definitely get divorced in those respective states. In states that outlaw same-sex marriage, due to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), those states do not have to recognize a same-sex marriage from another state and therefore do not have to grant their request for a divorce. That begs the question, if a gay or lesbian couple joins together in a civil union (e.g.: Vermont), can they get a “divorce” in a state that allows same-sex marriage (e.g.: Massachusetts)?
The answer to that question, at least in Massachusetts, is yes. In 2004, Judge Cronin of the Essex Probate and Family Court ruled that a couple who has a civil union in Vermont may get “divorced” in Massachusetts. He reasoned that a Vermont civil union confers all the rights of marriage (sans the actual title of “marriage”) and therefore, through a dissolution process similar to a divorce, Massachusetts may sever those “marriage” rights.
It is still up in the air, due to Proposition 8 that was recently voted in in California, whether same-sex marriage or divorces will stay valid in that state. At least in Massachusetts, marriage and divorce is a right open to all couples, straight or gay.
*thanks to Amy Martel for the case-law and clarification
* NOTE: This information is only for Massachusetts residents! If you live in other states, this will not apply.
I recently had the priviledge to contribute as an expert on Jennifer Scott’s article for Bankrate.com entitled “Seeking an ex-spouse’s 401(k) can be thorny“. The finely written article gives advice on how to navigate the often dangerous waters of actually splitting a retirement account that has been awarded to one of the spouses of a divorce.
If I had to condense the article into a one-liner, it would be this: Have a knowledgable divorce lawyer draft up the separation agreeement and subseqent Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) as soon as possible to avoid loss of funds and headache. Here in Massachusetts, a divorce lawyer or a knowledgable financial advisor can easily work together to draft a QDRO before the divorce action is finalized.
