Should the Bride(s) wear white and wear white?
Posted on 08/15/2003 7:04:42 AM PDT by bedolido
SEATTLE - Now that Barbara and Heather Rhoads-Weaver of Seattle have taken advantage of Canada's new gay marriage law by tying the knot in Victoria, B.C., they have some legal questions to ponder.
For instance, should they fill out their tax forms as single or married? When Barbara begins clerking for a Wash. State Supreme Court justice, how will she check her marital status on the human resources forms?
"How do we truthfully fill out forms so we don't get penalized as trying to defraud the government?" she asks. The couple have no doubt in their own minds that they are legally married - their status is just not recognized yet by the state or federal governments.
For now, Vermont is the only U.S. state that recognizes gay civil unions. But this means that any gay couple that has formed a civil union in Vermont or married in the three countries that recognize same-sex marriages - Canada, the Netherlands or Belgium - could lose their legal status once they move elsewhere. This issue is expected to present a number of legal challenges in the near future.
"If the state doesn't address the issue directly, it will be individual cases that will be challenged and work its way through the court system," said Barbara Rhoads-Weaver.
She also points out that the benefits of gay marriage not only have personal benefits, because "society benefits from people being married and working as stronger economic units."
For instance, she has a massive student loan from the government which requires her to give a percentage of her income to pay off the debt. Right now her income is fairly modest compared to that of Heather and therefore she makes smaller payments. But if the government recognized she and Heather as a dual-income couple and required a higher payment, then the loan would be paid off faster - to the government's benefit.
Another case might be with loans, where creditors could pursue the other partner as they do with spouses.
For Barbara and Heather, marriage is especially important because they plan to have children.
"We want to make sure that not only will our children have a legal relationship with us, but that we can have a relationship with each other, and not be legal strangers," said Barbara.
The couple have done everything they can, so far, to solidify and protect their relationship. A few years ago they completed all the legal paperwork available to them and they even had a symbolic wedding to publicly state their commitment to each other. Still, they're in a legal limbo.
Same-sex couple can protect themselves somewhat but there are no guarantees, said Seattle lawyer Catherine del Fierro.
"The best thing they can do is put themselves in each other's wills, but as far as far as taking the common-law marriage route - that doesn't take them anywhere," she said.
The couple also needs living wills and a power of attorney to make various legal decisions in case one partner is incapacitated. Those with numerous assets might also consider a more detailed agreement what each party has, what their intent is for joint assets, and what would happen if the partnership broke up. But even those steps may not be enough.
"Such documents are no absolute guarantee that a same-sex couple would have the same legal rights as that of a regular married couple," said Roger Winters of the Legal Marriage Alliance of Washington State.
"Even after writing a will and doing everything you can think of to protect your interests as a couple legally, when one passes away, an estranged biological family may challenge the will, saying it was written under duress," he said.
And, in a life-and-death situation, even with living wills signed, there's no certainty that a hospital would give a partner priority over biological relatives in making a decision, he pointed out. "With a legal marriage, you would have the legal standing to make the call about pulling the plug, where someone is buried - those kinds of issues."
(Excerpt) Read more at nwcn.com ...
Should the Bride(s) wear white and wear white?
Or, more accurately:
The couple have no doubt in their own minds that they are legally married - they're just not legally married.
"Beats me; go ask your mother. She oughta know!"
How surprising is this?
Perhaps one has a penis hidden under that white dress. Surely they wouldn't commit adultery in order to have a child.
You freaks add nothing to mankind but, expenses to the TAXPAYER. I think it's time the tax payer demands an immediate stop to all the legal expenses to our justice system.
The solution is as simple as your minds. Go to the judge you're working for. Tell him or her your story, and ask if you are married. Then put the answer ("No") down on the paperwork.
This is definitely the kind of person that should be clerking for a judge: believing that they are legally married in a country and state that doesn't recognize legal same-sex marriage.< /sarcasm >
ery well-put.
I'd say marriage is a "gray area" for homosexual couples, like being dry is a "gray area" for water.
If they're married, they aren't homosexual; if they're homosexual, they aren't married.
Dan
Just check the box next to [Carpet Muncher].
FMCDH
Hey, ugly girls need lovin' too!
They aren't married at all, legally or otherwise. People of the same sex cannot be married even if it is legal. The law is irrelevant. People are married because of promises made before and to God, not to or in front of government employees. Government recogition is important only to government.
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