California Passes Bill that Helps Homosexual Couples Divorce
The “domicile” rule typically disallows a couple from getting divorced in a state other than the state in which they resided at the time of the break-up. The problem this rule imposes on homosexual couples seeking a divorce is that judges in states that do not recognize homosexual marriages have refused to grant divorces to lesbian or gay couples who were married in one state and subsequently relocated to the non-recognizing state.
California’s new law goes into effect in January 2012 and provides that if a couple that married in California is denied a divorce in another state, the California court will have jurisdiction to grant the couple a dissolution. The couple must file the divorce case in the county where they wed, and the court will adjudicate the dissolution “in accordance with California law.”
See Gay Divorce: SB651 Opens California Divorce Courts To Non-Residents, Oct. 12, 2011.
Special thanks to David S. Luber (Attorney at law, Florida Probate Attorney Wills and Estates Law Firm) for bringing this article to my attention.