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Supreme Court Ruling Makes Same-Sex Marriage/Divorce Legal in Michigan

On Behalf of | Jun 30, 2015 | Uncategorized |

The battle over gay marriage in the United States, as well as in Michigan, took a dramatic turn late last week, as the United States Supreme Court ruled that banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. That means gay marriage is now legal in all 50 states, including the 14 states that still had laws that banned such unions. The ruling means that the law that Michigan voters passed in 2004 that prevented same-sex couples from marrying has been struck down. That law called for marriage to only be legal for heterosexual couples.

According to the ruling, which was hotly contested by the Highest Court’s nine judges and was passed in a 5-4 decision, “The Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-State.” The ruling also means that joint tax filings and joint adoptions are now legal in Michigan and everywhere else in the country.

The ruling will have other immediate and long-term effects as well, including expected status improvements to insurance matters, estate planning, hospital/medical decisions, and any other marital rights and benefits. One of the cases behind the decision came from Michigan in which a couple sued the state because they were not allowed to adopt each other’s children under the previous law. The two women say they are now going to plan their wedding and adopt each other’s children.

Now that this new law has been put into place, there’s no question that marriage, as well as divorce, will forever be affected in Michigan and across the entire country. With same-sex marriage now legal that means other family law-related matters will also see changes. Same-sex divorce, adoption, child custody and support issues may likely see many changes in the coming months and years. There’s no question that there will be many legal issues that are going to arise. Therefore, having experienced and trusted legal counsel in matters involving same-sex couples will be essential. That’s why you should contact the Law Offices of Michael A. Robbins if you are dealing with any kind ofsame-sex family legal issue in Michigan. We are sensitive to the unique issues that are associated with these cases. You can trust is to get you the right help that you need. Please call us at 248-646-7980, or
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