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SAME SEX MARRIAGE

Pros

Children and Your Rights

If you plan on having or raising children, your status as a couple greatly affects your
rights regarding your children. In marriage, both partners have the same rights and
responsibilities. In a divorce, both partners can seek custody and visitation rights like
any married couple. Upon death, the remaining parent automatically becomes the
primary legal parent.

Absent marriage, same-sex couples can sometimes turn to adoption in order to gain
the rights of legal parents. While no states may deny adoption to same-sex couples -
- as long as they get married -- unmarried couples may run into the same legal
challenges unmarried opposite-sex couples face.

Joint Property Rights

Marriage generally creates a presumption of joint ownership of property accrued

during the marriage. The presumption is the opposite for unmarried couples, where
your property will be presumed to be owned by whoever acquired it. Deciding which
presumption works best for you and your partner can be helpful in deciding whether
or not to get married.

Government Benefits

This is one of the largest reasons to get married, because the government provides
a lot of benefits exclusively to married couples. A small sample of these benefits
include Social Security benefits, health care benefits, nursing home care, and unpaid
leave from your job to care for family members. In light of the
2015 Obergefell decision, federal and state benefits are available to all legally
married couples in the United States, gay or straight.
CONS

Formalities

Marriage, for all of its pros and cons, requires that certain formalities be performed,
which may or may not be what you want. Unmarried couples can get together, and
break up, without all the formalities (and court hearings) required for married
couples.

Decide What's Best For You and Your Partner

Given all of the above issues and factors, spend some serious time with your partner
considering same-sex marriage legal pros and cons. If you plan on raising kids and
you're okay with taking on the other partner's debts, then getting married may make
sense. On the other hand, if you don't necessarily want to be burdened with the other
person's debts or institutional marriage just isn't for you, then it may not be right for
you.

Get More Information About Same-Sex Marriage from a Legal Professional

Following the Court's Obergefell decision, same-sex marriage carries all of the same
rights and responsibilities as for straight married couples. But if you were previously
married or have some legal issues to iron out following the decision, you might want
to speak with an experienced family law attorney near you.