NEW YORK - After wedding-day celebrations subside, gay and lesbian couples from other states who marry starting this week in California face sobering challenges.
Many will return home to states which explicitly reject same-sex unions. Major gay-rights groups are urging them not to rush into lawsuits demanding that their marriages be recognized. Lawyers warn that they may have difficulty divorcing if things go awry.
"This is a very serious undertaking," said Richard Williams, a Chicago lawyer who has been helping local same-sex couples weigh their options.
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"It may not be accepted here in Illinois, but it is legal, it is real," Williams said. "If you go to California and get married, there are potential problems and pitfalls that you have to think about."
Likely areas of contention could include inheritance, medical decision-making, health and pension benefits, and child custody.
Starting Monday, California will become the second state after Massachusetts to allow same-sex marriages, but the first to do so without any residency requirements. No one knows how many out-of-state couples will head there to wed, but for some it's an opportunity that's impossible to pass up.
"It's something we did not want to miss," said Inga Sarda-Sorensen of New York City, who plans a wedding in Malibu in mid-September with her partner of 10 years, Jennie Talley.
As New Yorkers, they've already gained some rights as registered domestic partners since 2004, but they view marriage as a big advance.
"When Jennie would tell co-workers we're domestic partners, people would say 'Oh, that's nice,' but they don't really get what that means," Sarda-Sorensen said. "When she told them she was going to California to get married, it was jubilation and hugs all around."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25161150/
Topic: Calif. same-sex weddings will affect other states (Read 1323 times)