I'm In A Same-Sex Marriage And Wish To Get Divorced In Pasco County, Florida - Is That Legal?

Same-sex couples who were married in another state but want to get divorced in Florida are in a legal mess. Eighteen states in the U.S. allow same sex marriages. The rest, which includes Florida, do not.

If a couple is married in another state, and want to get divorced in Florida, currently they cannot do so.

Recently, a court in Hillsborough County denied a same-sex divorce case, saying that because the state doesn’t recognize the marriage, the court can’t dissolve it. The couple vows to take the case to the Florida Supreme Court.

Unfortunately, same-sex couples in Florida who wish to divorce are stuck. In order to get a legal divorce, most states have a requirement that one spouse be a resident for a certain period of time before filing the divorce, often six months or a year.

A couple who has set up a life in Florida will most likely not wish to uproot their life to move to another state just to get a divorce.

If you are a same-sex couple who was married in another state, and you are now living in Florida and wish to get a divorce, you have a couple of options. First, you can wait for the issue to work its way through the state court system, as well as the federal court system.

Because of the prevalence of same-sex marriage in many states, it’s likely that many states, possibly including Florida, will either begin recognizing gay marriage or will allow same-sex couples to divorce in their state.

If you simply can’t wait, consider whether one of the spouses can move to another state simply to pursue the divorce. Some other states that do recognize gay marriage and therefore will recognize the divorce may have shorter residency requirements than Florida.