In 2004 Massachusetts was the first state to legalize same sex marriage. Same sex marriage was legalized due to a ruling in favor of marriage equality in the 2003 case Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, 440 Mass. 309, 798 N.E. 2d 941, (2003). Following suit, in 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court decided the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges, which ruled that denying same sex couples the right to marry was a violation of their constitutional rights.
In most aspects, same sex couples face the same legal issues that heterosexual couples face when it comes to marriage. In Massachusetts, the laws regarding what constitutes a valid marriage are the same regardless of whether the couples are heterosexual or not. Additionally, like heterosexual couples, same sex couples may benefit from creating prenuptial or postnuptial agreements.
Divorce is also treated the same way. However, there are complex complications that may come into play when handling child custody issues and rights of non-biological parents. Although Massachusetts does not require both parents to be biological to have parental rights, (see Gabriella Della Corte vs. Angelica Ramirez, 81 Mass. App. Ct. 906, (2012)), there are circumstances in which one parent’s rights could be called into question. With such an important issue such as child visitation at stake, it is important that you have an experienced attorney at your side.
Attorney Allen will help you through each step of the process and get you what you deserve.
Contact Attorney Allen of Allen Law Group at (978) 219-9694 and/or by email at aaron@allenlawgrouppc.com.