The next issue — Same-sex divorce

Now that more states are recognizing same-sex marriage, the next issue is likely to be same-sex divorce.

Here are some excerpts from Nathan Koppel, Same-sex couples face another hurdle: divorce, Wall St. J., June 10, 2008:

Next week, same-sex couples across the country who want to marry will be welcomed in California. But what happens if they later want to divorce?

That is one of the many legal issues that could confront California newlyweds who return to home states where same-sex marriages are prohibited. * * *

To wind down a relationship, same-sex couples have to navigate a process that may force them to appear in three different courts, including a civil court that treats the separation as a business breakup. Says Mitchell Katine, an attorney who handles same-sex separations: “It’s not fair to parties to have their relationship of 20 years treated like a breakup of two people who operated a Kinko’s.”