Mediate Michigan

It’s only been two months since the District of Columbia legalized same-sex marriage, but local attorney Lawrence Jacobs is already cautioning his clients: Marriage may be allowed, but divorce will be much harder to do.

While the District and five states have legalized same-sex marriage and consequently allow divorces, granting same-sex divorce elsewhere is often murky. As married same-sex couples cross into states that explicitly ban or don’t recognize gay marriage, they face a dilemma.

“Be careful what you ask for,” says Jacobs, who consults and represents gay couples considering marriage. Jacobs married his partner in Connecticut in 2009. “When you break up, you may have a nasty fight in a court with no rules.

“States across the country are grappling with their stance on gay divorce. The Texas attorney general is resisting a gay divorce approved by an Austin, Texas, judge involving a lesbian couple. Two months ago in Pennsylvania, a judge denied a divorce for two women who were married in Massachusetts. Rhode Island's top court rejected the idea of allowing gay divorce several years ago.

via Serious legal hurdles for gay divorce – CNN.com.