What benefits do gay New Yorkers married out of state receive?

August 3, 2010 7:35 AM

What additional rights do out of state gay marriages give for New Yorkers?

The boyfriend and I have started discussing some sort of formalized commitment to one another. We live in New York, which doesn't currently have gay marriage, but recognizes out of state marriages, so we've toyed with the idea of going to Massachusetts or Connecticut to get married. I know some of the rights given to married couples are federal and won't apply since gay marriages aren't recognized by the US government, but I can't seem to find any resources on what state-level rights gay marriages confer. Additionally, I can't find any information about whether out-of-state gay marriages retain all of the state-level marriage rights, or whether it's only partial. Can anyone help?

Beyond that, what's the process involved? Do we actually need to be residents of the state in question, or can we make it a weekend trip kind of thing? What sort of paperwork is involved? What requirements do we need to meet? etc.

posted by reticulatedspline to Society & Culture (3 answers total)

IANYL, but last time I checked an out-of-state marriage confers all state rights of marriage in NY with the current exception of filing taxes - there was a recent state tax department decision that said that since some provision of NY law says that you have to use the same filing status with your state taxes as with your federal taxes, you can't file as married in NY unless you can file as married federally.

So, where does that leave you? Well, you get a bunch of stuff - inheritance rights, protection of marital property and other matrimonial / divorce court laws, some help in landlord/tenant stuff, hospital visits, insurance coverage, and more.

Really, though, you should talk to a local lawyer. LeGaL, a NY-based LGBTQ bar association, has a referral list for lawyers who are familiar with issues like this. The phone number for their referral service is [phone].
posted by Eshkol at 7:52 AM on August 3, 2010

I know DC marriage regs pretty well! The do vary greatly by state. Here, you don't have to be a resident. You do have to file paperwork and wait 3 days to pick it up (really 5, since the day you drop it off and the day you pick it up don't count). Not much is required other than that, and you can even have someone do the dropping off and picking up for you--you just have to be in DC for the ceremony. Lemme know if you want the real nitty-gritty, but it's all pretty simple.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:32 AM on August 3, 2010

I'm a JP in CT and do a ton of same sex couples from NY. I'm not a lawyer nor a resident of NY, but I have been told repeatedly by multiple sources that as far as NY is concerned everything but the ability to actually get married in state is conferred to same sex couples. I don't know anything about this newer tax thing though (I'll have to look into that myself for giving advice to people). So with the exception of special cases that run into federal law, they recognize it just the same as any other marriage done out of state.

If you want to chat about all the details on how to get married in CT, feel free to shoot me an email mattloter at gmail, but the basic answers to your questions are, no you don't need to be a resident of CT, you will have to come up during business hours to apply for the license in person (both of you), the only paperwork you'll need to bring is photo ID and you'll fill out a one page form with basic info. Depending on the town you do it in, we can have you in and out in less than an hour start to finish. No other requirements are needed. The technical/legal part of the process is super simple and quick.
posted by teishu at 9:39 AM on August 3, 2010