Brooklyn Gay & LGBT Family Law Attorneys

Brooklyn Gay & LGBT Family Law Attorneys

Traditional couples have no problem if they want to obtain a divorce. This process is relatively straightforward, and most people are already aware of the steps or the procedure. It is all thanks to years of judicial and legislative accommodation.

It is true that state laws somewhat vary regarding the minutia of both divorce and marriage. However, the basis or the foundation of the respective laws and precedents of every state in the country is mostly consistent.

The story may seem a bit different when it comes to non-traditional or gay and lesbian couples. They typically face indecision and ambiguity because of the legal novelty of the bond. While all the Supreme Court declared legality of same-sex unions in all 50 states starting June 26, 2015, this law did not include everything that goes with marriage, which is why it is a serious challenge to obtain a gay divorce there even if it is an equitable one.

Gay Divorce in Brooklyn

Non-traditional couples have the support they require from some state judiciaries and legislatures. However, there is a substantial amount of struggle to recognize and normalize the establishment of same-sex marriage legally. Thankfully, couples seeking for divorce in New York, particularly in brooklyn will have no problems, especially with the help of an expert in the field.

Gay and lesbian marriages have been legalized in the entire state, which has opened the pathways for the LGBT community to have the same rights and privileges as with heterosexual couples. As with other people, their relationship can face some pitfalls, which can lead to divorce.

Same-sex married couples who wish to be legally separated can seek the help of a gay divorce lawyer. Since gay and lesbians couples are allowed to be married in Brooklyn, their marriages can also enter into the validity of other jurisdictions. Couples who live in the state should meet the residency requirements before they can obtain a divorce in Brooklyn.

Issues with Divorce for Gay Couples

As with any couple, divorce is a life-altering situation. There will always be grief and misunderstandings, along with practical and financial logistics that are often difficult to sort out.

It is essential to understand that the LGBT community members have the same rights relating to families as with anyone else. They should not worry about the different policies that depended on sexual orientations. It is indeed good news, but it does not mean gay couples do not face particular issues in Brooklyn. In fact, they face a more complicated problem mainly because of the stereotype and social stigma.

A divorce petition is probably the most cited of the family law cases for both heterosexual and LGBT couples. Nonetheless, some issues are also present, including abuse or neglect, visitation, and child custody and support.

It becomes more challenging if the gay couple has a child, but only one is considered the adoptive parent. Commonly, de facto parents are not recognized, a term that describes a parent who fulfills the needs of affection and care of the child. Unless the couple had plans for the baby together, such as through artificial insemination, it is possible for either parent to leave without grounds for visitation or child support.

Who Can Help?

Despite the legality of gay and lesbian divorce in Brooklyn, LGBT community members still face problems, especially emotional ones. Family law attorneys can help as they have handled many divorce cases in the past. However, only a few would have not just the experience, but also the understanding and the sensitivity toward efficiently guiding the gay or lesbian client throughout the divorce process.

Breakups will always be painful for both parties, and they require a sympathetic approach. A family law attorney should not be just about the case itself but should also show concern for the client. Whether you are in a same-sex marriage or a domestic partnership, you want someone to offer you with legal guidance and be sensitive to what you are going through at the same time.

Look for a lawyer who is thoughtful of your situation, while helping you address issues, especially those with grave consequences involved in divorce. These problems may include the distribution of assets, child support, visitation, and custody, and alimony.

It is quite fortunate for gay couples who live in Brooklyn to have the same process of obtaining a divorce. However, careful handling of the case and agreeing with the other party can be quite tricky. Therefore, it is significant to find a lawyer with experience in dealing with LGBT divorces to make sure all your rights are protected.

The decision to get married is one that many couples think about for a long time. People may be engaged for many years before deciding to get married. They may complete an education, begin a career and decide to buy a house. As they do so, they accumulate varied types of financial assets. If people later get married, these assets may be subject to sharing by the other member of the couple. In that instance, it may be best for both parties to do all they can to make sure their financial interests are maintained and protected as they get married. Having a good prenuptial agreement has many important advantages. It allows both parties come to the marriage confident that their financial interests will be protected no matter what happens going forward. It also allows both parties to make sure that they can trust the other party. When one party discloses all of their financial issues in advance this means that the other party is being open and honest before they get married. They are letting the other party know how about their assets in advance. Such honesty can serve as a great foundation for any marriage as it means that the other party understands how much they have and what they can contribute to the marriage.

Working it Out

The decision to get married is one that many couples think about for a long time. People may be engaged for many years before deciding to get married. They may complete an education, begin a career and decide to buy a house. As they do so, they accumulate varied types of financial assets. If people later get married, these assets may be subject to sharing by the other member of the couple. In that instance, it may be best for both parties to do all they can to make sure their financial interests are maintained and protected as they get married. Having a good prenuptial agreement has many important advantages. It allows both parties come to the marriage confident that their financial interests will be protected no matter what happens going forward. It also allows both parties to make sure that they can trust the other party. When one party discloses all of their financial issues in advance this means that the other party is being open and honest before they get married. They are letting the other party know how about their assets in advance. Such honesty can serve as a great foundation for any marriage as it means that the other party understands how much they have and what they can contribute to the marriage.

Specific Details

A good prenuptial agreement will also help with other aspects of the upcoming marriage. For example, it may spell out what is allowed depending on how long the marriage continues. A marriage of only a year or so may leave both parties willing to simply walk away. The prenuptial agreement lets one party keep their assets in the aftermath of a bad breakup. Both parties have what they need to avoid any longer term consequences for a relationship that was not mutually agreeable. The same is true of a longer relationship. If the marriage continues over a decade or longer, both parties may find their financial circumstances have changed. An agreement can recognize this face and make according adjustments that make sense to each member of the relationship. For example, if one party agrees to work while the other chooses to earn a medical or law school degree, the agreement can allow one party to claim part of the earnings of the other party as they have helped contribute to their ability to earn a degree and earn more money. This kind of agreement can cover many types of such circumstances in great and useful detail.

The Children

Any prenuptial agreement can also assist with any kind of childcare arrangements. If each member of the couple decides to bring a child into the relationship, the agreement can help with any kind of financial issues related to the care of the child if they decide to get a divorce. This is why it is important to get everything worked out in advance before getting married. A good attorney will listen to both parties and help them resolve any fiscal issues before they head down the aisle. This means that both parties can go into a marriage fully aware of what it means for them personally financially. It can also mean that both parties are fully clear what it means if the marriage is not working for them. A well-crafted prenuptial agreement is a great way to begin a marriage on the right foot.

Laws are complicated and often subject to change. What is true one month may not be true the next. This is particularly true when it comes to laws that pertain to gays and lesbians. Such laws vary by state and by community. Each community is free to set up certain laws pertaining to gay and lesbian life. One area that has seen a great deal of change is that of family law. Like many people, many gays and lesbians wish to form long term relationships. The same is true of the kind families they want to have. Many gays and lesbians love the idea of getting married and starting a family. However, doing so can pose unique obstacles that others may not face under the same circumstances. One gay person may want to get married while their partner isn’t quite sure. A lesbian woman may have a biological child that she brings to any relationship going forward. The laws pertaining to these situations are changing and often entirely different depending on where the person happens to live. In that instance, it is crucial that anyone involved in such a relationship have the right kind of legal help when deciding on such relationships.

Working It Out in Advance

When two gays or two lesbians wish to create a relationship, it’s best to be aware of what kinds of laws apply to them and their situation. In Brooklyn, for example, gay marriage is legal. This means that all gay couples have the same rights as their straight counterparts. This also pertains to other issues that are related to their lives. Gays and lesbians have the same rights under law as everyone else in Brooklyn. At the same time, gays and lesbians may face specific issues that make their circumstances entirely different than many other couples in a similar situation. For example, one party may decide they would like to be a parent. In that case, they may need to explore outside help in order to get the kind of family life they would like to have. Outside help can take the form of a formal help such as the assistance of a surrogate in bearing a child for them. It may also be a more information arrangement such as a straight person agreeing to father a child or a straight women agreeing to get pregnant with one party’s child and to give up parental rights to the baby to the parties involved in the gay marriage.

Untangling It

Just like straight marriages, it’s entirely possible for things to go wrong with a gay and lesbian relationship. Over time, the couple may want to consider reworking the relationship. They may even want to get a divorce. Like straight couples, gays and lesbians can get any formal marriage agreement dissolved. At the same time, when there are children involved in the situation, certain laws may apply to the partnership that need to specific help. There may be a child from a prior relationship that has formed a bond with the new parent and wants to remain in touch with that person even after a divorce. Another partner may be pregnant at the time of the breakup. Such situations can be a lot more complex than a standard divorce where both parties are related to the children in the marriage. In such cases, it is vitally important for all concerned to have the kind of legal help they need to get them resolved in a satisfactory manner that also adheres to all necessary legal requirements that may apply in Brooklyn.

Effective Legal Assistance

Effective legal assistance can help anyone involved navigate the legal situation in front of them and make sure they have what they need when it comes to any child related issues. Brooklyn gay and lesbian family law attorneys can offer the kind of thoughtful help that clients need to think about their next steps. They can point out what kind of options are presently in place legally. They can also point out what kind of legal issues are likely to arise as any case goes forward under the court system. A lawyer can also point out where the laws may be evolving in some ways and how such laws can apply to the people in their present circumstances. Knowing what laws apply is a crucial part of making any child related issue work out for the partners as well as for any and all children involved.

Divorce marks a life-altering transition. Besides the grief and confusion, financial and practical logistics may be painful to sort out. The Spodek Law Group proudly assists Brooklyn LGBT couples throughout the divorce process, including Property Divisions and custody rights.

brooklyn Gay LGBT Family Law

brooklyn joins Manhattan and other boroughs as home to one of the largest visible LGBT communities in the world. In 2011, New York became the largest state to approve equal marriage rights to spouses in same sex unions. You may read the full Marriage Equality Bill here. We find it imperative to provide knowledgeable legal guidance to not only gay and LGBT unions, but dissolutions as well.

Competent, experienced brooklyn family law lawyers can help untangle complicated dilemmas with minimal heartbreak. Necessary areas to address may include child visitation and child support, asset and income divisions, property distribution and alimony payments.

Prenuptial Agreements

Many people do not realize out-of-state moves may compromise such spousal rights as property division and child custody. Some states have not firmed up their stances on all facets of LGBT marriage equality, or they limit rights states like New York guarantee. Some couples may have a marriage license from another state before a move to New York, and wonder which state’s laws apply to their divorce. Even if brooklyn LGBT couples relocate to another state, they may pursue a New York state divorce should the need arise.

Hopefully, all same-sex couples have a legally sound prenuptial agreement. LGBT partners in New York should take advantage of the enormous legislative rights granted to them, and pursue a marriage license in the state even if they marry out of town. In the event of a decision to part, our attorneys will honor couples’ prenuptial agreements along with divorce laws of the state of New York.

Property Division

Since New York’s unprecedented Marriage Equality Bill went into effect in 2011, brooklyn has surpassed Manhattan in real estate demand and property appreciation. The stakes may be quite high for brooklyn LGBT couples who co-habitated for many years or amassed property together prior to the marriage bill taking effect, and even for newer couples who bought in brooklyn more recently. If couples share rental income properties in brooklyn, where tenant profitability has skyrocketed in the last decade, they may have to consider selling property or dividing future rental income.

The Spodek Law Group includes many attorneys who specialize in this intricate, and often most contentious, area of divorce. We can help LGBT couples choose between property sales, rental income division and property redistribution based on their unique partnership characteristics, and in both long-term and newer situations.

Child Custody and Visitation

Up until recent movements for official recognition of rights to LGBT marriages and families, societal norms took for granted that women and mothers would dominate child custody in divorce situations. This is not the case in LGBT family law. As same-sex couples may adopt a partner’s existing children from prior relationships or new children together, more intricate consideration is required on the topic of child custody.

brooklyn LGBT family law dictates individual spouse’s incomes, residence stability and parental fitness as the ultimate determinants of child custody and visitation rights. If a same-sex partner adopted their spouse’s existing child or children, and created an intimate bond he or she wishes to secure, legal intervention can help this family relationship continue and stay intact despite divorce.

Assets, Income and Alimony

As gay marriage and same-sex unions are relatively new to legal rights, brooklyn LGBT families must seek wise family law counsel on asset, income and alimony matters after divorce. New York requires married couples to prove one-year residency in the state for its divorce laws to be applicable in all facets of divorce, including financial. Therefore couples may receive the maximum New York divorce benefits so long as they always lived in New York, relocated from New York after one year of a marriage in the state or relocated to New York for at least one year of marriage prior to divorce.

Again, a prenuptial agreement should include asset divisions and alimony standards to refer to should divorce arise. If no agreement is available, brooklyn LGBT couples benefit from the laws of one of the most comprehensive legislative territories in the world for same-sex marriages. The Spodek Law Group will apply keen expertise to create an outcome where both partners remain financially stable and compensated for their value to the partnership.

Although New York became one of the first jurisdictions to sanction rights for gay marriages, this area of the law is still relatively young and rife with considerations requiring specialized knowledge. From spouses’ initial agreement to divorce to the final settlement, the Spodek Law Group provides sharp and sensitive attorneys to guide brooklyn LGBT couples through what may be the hardest decision of their lives.