Category: Same Sex Marriage & Divorce

Florida Same-Sex Marriage Update

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On behalf of Ronald H. Kauffman, P.A. posted in Same Sex Marriage & Divorce on Friday, August 22, 2014.

Big news in Florida’s divorce marriage war. A federal judge in Florida ruled that the same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional, and ordered Florida to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple.

Specifically, the order:

Requires the Secretary of the Florida Dept. of Management Services and the Florida Surgeon General to not enforce Florida provisions on same-sex marriage;

Requires the Florida Surgeon General to issue a corrected death certificate showing a female plaintiff was legally married to another woman;

Ordered the Clerk of Court of Washington County to issue a marriage license to two men;

But then stayed enforcement of the order to take effect until 91 days after stays have been denied or lifted.

The court found that sexual orientation was not a suspect classification, but marriage was a fundamental right. The court applied a strict scrutiny test, which requires a compelling state interest, and found Florida’s law could not justify itself.

When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage, though just as sincerely held, will again seem an obvious pretext for discrimination. Observers who are not now of age will wonder just how those views could have been held.

-U.S District Judge Robert L. Hinkle

The judge stayed most of the effects of his ruling pending appeal. This means that nothing has changed as of yet. We are in a legal limbo in Florida. The judge added:

The institution of marriage survived when bans on interracial marriage were struck down, and the institution will survive when bans on same-sex marriage are struck down.

The case involved individuals who sued Florida to recognize their marriages or grant them marriage licenses Defendants include Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi. A spokespman for the Governor said:

The Governor respects the many views Floridians have on this issue. He believes in traditional marriage, consistent with the constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2008.

This is the first federal decision in Florida. When the stay is lifted, it will have statewide impact, and more families will be protected under Florida law. They may apply and receive health insurance, pension benefits and other state rights now limited to different sex partners.

Judge Hinkle’s order is available here.

Can You Marry Your Computer in Florida?

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On behalf of Ronald H. Kauffman, P.A. posted in Same Sex Marriage & Divorce on Wednesday, May 7, 2014.

Hey, I like my computer as much as the next guy, but I don’t want to marry or divorce it. Not everyone feels the same about their PCs and Macs. Channeling Joaquin Phoenix in “Her”, a Florida man tried to intervene in the pending gay marriage federal case in Tallahassee.

The Federal judge didn’t take too kindly to the motion:

Chris Sevier has moved to intervene, apparently asserting he wishes to marry his computer. Perhaps the motion is satirical. Or perhaps it is only removed from reality. Either way, the motion has no place in this lawsuit. Mr. Sevier has alleged nothing that would support intervention.

As Fortune magazine reports:

What he’s trying to say is that same-sex marriage is the first step down a slippery slope. Let a man marry a man, and pretty soon people will start wanting to marry anything that turns them on.

He wrote in his motion:

Recently I purchased an Apple computer. The computer was sold to me without filters to block out pornography. I was not provided with any warning by Apple that pornography was highly addictive and could alter my reward cycle by the manufacturer. Over time, I began preferring sex with my computer over sex with real women. Naturally, I ‘fell in love’ with my computer and preferred having sex with it over all other persons or things, as a result of classic conditioning upon orgasm.

Fortune also notes that a “Chris Sevier” sued Apple because it sold him a computer without telling him about the evils of porn, and A&E after it fired Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson after he was caught spewing antigay talk. And just recently, a Chris Sevier tried to butt his way into Utah’s gay marriage legal case .

Forget about marrying your computer, Florida is in the increasingly minority of states in which marriages between persons of the same sex entered into in any jurisdiction, are not recognized for any purpose in this state. Since we don’t recognize legal gay marriage in Florida, it’ll be a long time before Florida will allow Theodore from “Her” to marry his OS.

Same Sex Marriages Now Recognized in Florida . . . sorta

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On behalf of Ronald H. Kauffman, P.A. posted in Same Sex Marriage & Divorce on Friday, August 30, 2013.

Florida doesn’t mince words when it comes to same sex divorce:

Marriages between persons of the same sex entered into in any jurisdiction . . . are not recognized . . . in this state.

With Florida Statute 741.212 written so clearly, you’d think there would be absolutely no recognition of same sex marriages in Florida. But you’d be wrong.

Yesterday, the IRS made a very important announcement that actually gives some recognition to same sex marriages – even though the taxpayer lives in Florida:

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service ruled that same-sex couples, legally married in jurisdictions that recognize their marriages, will be treated as married for federal tax purposes. The ruling applies regardless of whether the couple lives in a jurisdiction that recognizes same-sex marriage or a jurisdiction that does not recognize same-sex marriage.

Under the ruling, same sex couples will be treated as married for all federal tax purposes, including income and gift and estate taxes.

The ruling applies to all federal tax provisions where marriage is a factor, including:

  • Filing status on tax returns
  • Claiming personal and dependency exemptions
  • Taking the standard deduction
  • Employee benefits
  • IRA contributions, and
  • Claiming the earned income tax credit or child tax credit.

Essentially, the IRS is giving recognition to taxpayers in same sex marriages, even though the taxpayers live in Florida.

Granted, it’s not the State of Florida recognizing same sex marriages per se, but it is recognition of same sex married in Florida. Given the fight waged over the years for any recognition, that’s nothing to sneeze at.

Without any explanation, the IRS ruling does not apply to registered domestic partnerships, civil unions, or similar formal relationships recognized under state law.

For tax buffs out there, this may be a slight policy change. The IRS used to look at the law of the state of domicile, and now looks at the law of the state where the marriage took place.

With the IRS’s new announcement – that it will recognize all same-sex marriages valid in the state where the marriage took place, instead of the place where the taxpayer is living – the IRS is taking serious the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the DOMA case.