subject: Same-sex Premarital Steps Include Prenuptial Agreements [print this page] Are you contemplating marriage with your same-sex partner? Gay and lesbian couples that are seeking to tie the knot should consider a pre-nuptial agreement before ringing the wedding bells.
To be sure, same-sex couples need to consider inking prenuptial agreements perhaps even more than traditional marriage partners. These premarital agreements, also called prenups or prenupts, are legal binding contracts same-sex couples can enter into before they get married in Connecticut. They can protect both parties of the same-sex couple from all sorts of issues.
The state of Connecticut thought it was a good idea. So much so that Connecticut's Premarital Agreement Act was passed to encourage such agreements and renders them enforceable in nearly all cases where the agreements have been fairly negotiated.
Certainly, negotiating and signing a prenuptial agreement seems unromantic at best and perhaps threatening at worst, especially amid planning a same-sex wedding. But the truth is most same-sex couples will mutually benefit from a premarital agreement. As the prenup is being drafted, same-sex couples can also take into consideration and perhaps mitigate the negative impacts of the Defense Against Marriage Act, or DOMA, if the document is property crafted.
The agreement should cover: (a) assuring that any child of the parties is adopted by the non-biological parent; (b) in the event of divorce, future submission of the parties of the same-sex couple (by relocation, if necessary) to the jurisdiction of a court in Connecticut in the event that they have relocated to a non-recognition state; (c) possible submission of non-justiciable emergency or temporary disputes to arbitration; and (d) provision for resolution of alimony and property issues (also possibly by arbitration) in the event that the same-sex relationship ends.
Connecticut laws that govern same-sex marriage, which include the interplay with federal and sister-state laws, are complicated and changing. Same-sex couples planning to get married in Connecticut should take counsel with a family law attorney who specializes in same-sex marriage and same-sex divorce issues.
Hilary B. Miller is a prominent Connecticut attorney on the cutting edge of same-sex marriage and divorce issues. Miller is also active in pro bono litigation of AIDS-related claims, including family, employment and insurance matters. He graduated from Fordham University School of Law and is admitted to the Connecticut, New York and District of Columbia bars. If you need expert advice on same-sex marriages, visit Miller's family-law web site at http://www.ct-divorce.com.
