Issues same-sex couples face when ending their marriages

Generally speaking, a same-sex marriage in Louisiana is treated like a marriage between a man and a woman. Therefore, the rules and processes related to ending a marriage are also going to be roughly the same regardless of the gender of your spouse. However, there are some issues that you may need to be aware of if you are looking to end a same-sex marriage that traditional couples don’t necessarily have to worry about.

Asset division rules may be applied differently

The length of a marriage is often a key factor in determining how assets are divided and if you are entitled to alimony. In most cases, you are more likely to receive alimony if you have been married for several decades. However, it is possible that your marriage wasn’t recognized until 2015, and it is also possible that state divorce laws won’t take into account the fact that you were with your spouse years or decades before then.

It may be harder to obtain parental rights to a child

When a woman gives birth to a child, her husband is considered to be the child’s legal father. This is generally true even if that person isn’t the child’s biological father. In a same-sex marriage, there is some ambiguity as to whether both spouses are automatically granted legal rights to a child when it is born.

If you don’t have legal rights to a child when it is born, it may be possible to adopt that child while you are married to the minor’s legal mother or father. Assuming that you adopted your spouse’s son or daughter prior to getting divorced, you should be able to obtain custody or visitation rights to that child.

A family law attorney may be able to help you obtain a favorable settlement in your same-sex divorce case. If settlement talks fail, an attorney may be able to represent your interests at trial. Depending on the length of your marriage and other factors in your case, it may be possible to obtain alimony, child support and custody of a child.