New York became the sixth state to permit same-sex marriage. The new law becomes effective on July 24, 2011.
New York officials are preparing for a surge in in applications for marriage licenses when the floodgates open.
Unfortunately, at some time in the foreseeable future, there will be a corresponding surge in same sex divorce. As I noted, when interviewed by the New York Post:
Lost in the euphoria of the historic passage of New York’s same-sex marriage bill is the inevitability of bitter break-ups.
There will be support claims to resolve, property to divide and custody issues to settle, as with any other divorce.
“The same issues present themselves with same-sex couples: How do we split assets? What do we do with the children?” Clement said. “The law doesn’t change merely because you have same-sex partners
Officials predict that about 21,000 same sex couples will wed in New York in the next three years. If the state’s current divorce rate of 8.4 percent holds, about 1,800 of those marriages will not survive.
