Judge to take second look at divorce granted to same-sex couple – The Athens Messenger: News

Same-sex marriage is a fact in California.  If you are married here, you can get a divorce here whether married to a person of the same or of the opposite sex.

Interesting conflicts of law arise when people marry in one state and divorce in another.  Legal truths that we all presume in California change significantly when you move to another state before seeking a divorce.  For example, if you purchase a community property home in California before leaving the state and seeking a divorce in a non-community property state, the means and calculations used to divide the spouses’ relative ownership interests in that property may change drastically.

This case has been pending a long time in Ohi0.  A same-sex couple married in California, but then apparently took up residence in Ohio, where one of the two sought a divorce.  The courts there are now caught in a dilemma: if the state hosting the divorce proceedings does not recognize same-sex marriage at the time of the divorce, does that state have an obligation to recognize the marriage (legal in California) under the “full faith and credit” clause?

The judge on this case is taking a second look.

Judge to take second look at divorce granted to same-sex couple – The Athens Messenger: News.