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My wife

Started by Star river, May 20, 2012, 07:59:50 AM

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Star river

I was wondering does anyone know if I will have to devorice my wife after I have my sex legally changed.
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envie

I would say NO, unless your wife wants divorce.
But check the laws in your state for the details. I have been for instance In legal same sex marriage even though the same sex marriage act has not been completed in my state.
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Star river

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Jamie D

Quote from: Star river on May 20, 2012, 07:59:50 AM
I was wondering does anyone know if I will have to divorce my wife after I have my sex legally changed.

There is no legal authority anywhere in the United States to force any person to divorce.  Depending on the jurisdiction, gender reassignment may or may not be grounds for divorce or annulment.  You should contact a competent legal adviser.
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Star river

I'm not worried my wife wanting one she loves me and encourages my transition. We both were worried that the government would make us devorice.
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ffern

They do in the UK if you get a GRC but I'm guessing you're in the US,  otherwise you probably would have said, so like the others said, you'd prolly have to check state specific stuff.
"I decided that I was a lemon for a couple of weeks. I kept myself amused all that time jumping in and out of a gin and tonic."
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Jamie D

Quote from: ffern on May 20, 2012, 04:17:36 PM
They do in the UK if you get a GRC but I'm guessing you're in the US,  otherwise you probably would have said, so like the others said, you'd prolly have to check state specific stuff.

I believe Star is in the US, as she lists "Continental 48" as her location.

The legal principle in the US is that the government has no right to terminate a lawful contract.
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Star river

Ok ty everyone that is a relief. Now I just have to get over my fear of hrt then I'm on my way yea
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Jeneva

As far as federal issues go (taxes), as long as she doesn't update her SSA registration they won't even know.  My wife asked me to hold off updating SSA until they get rid of DOMA just so we don't get denied married status on our taxes.

That isn't a case where they would divorce us, but rather just "pretend" we aren't married for purposes of income tax.
Blessed Be!

Jeneva Caroline Samples
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Star river

Well we have been married for two years and have filled joint both years.
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Jeneva

Quote from: Star river on May 20, 2012, 06:39:51 PM
Well we have been married for two years and have filled joint both years.
It will be 15 for us in just two Fridays from today  :icon_cool: :icon_rockon:.  Each year they match the social security numbers against the SSA database and if they are both F or M then it will potentially get kicked out or audited.  My name change was last year so this last return we both had female names and still filed jointly, but SSA still had M so it wasn't a problem.
Blessed Be!

Jeneva Caroline Samples
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Star river

Oh ok I see what you mean.
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ToriJo

I'd love to know if anyone has seen a court void a marriage for this.  I don't believe any court has.

That said, plenty of states have laws defining marriage as "one man and one woman" and DOMA uses similar language.  Of course none of these things define man and woman, nor are other government laws that do define them (particularly administrative regulations for birth certificates, passports, social security, drivers' licenses, etc) necessarily apply to marriage.

My understanding is that if you are in the US, DOMA might apply for federal benefits.  It might not too, if you think the federal government would NOT recognize the post-transition sex.  But if they did recognize it, they don't give married benefits to same-sex couples due to DOMA.  It would probably take a court case to figure out if they recognize it or not.  Hopefully that will change very soon and DOMA would be eliminated.  However, there is no need to divorce because of DOMA.  But I would be careful with tax planning and such - talk to a legal expert (and even then you are probably taking a bit of a risk, no matter what you put on your tax return for filing status).

As for state laws, if you are somewhere that allows same-sex marriage, you have no problem.

If you are somewhere that doesn't allow same-sex marraige, some state laws might apply that define marriage as one man and one woman.  You might not be forced to divorce, but you might not be recognized as being married should it come up legally.  It would really be entirely up to the courts and how they decide to rule.

There is no safe marriage in the US where one partner is trans and one partner is non-trans, whether that marriage is same-sex or opposite-sex.  Different courts have recognized and not recognized sex reassignment.

All of the above assumes a surgery occurred (which surgery is a whole other legal mess).  If no surgery has occured (I.E. your wife has male anatomy still), even if she had her drivers' license changed, I believe she would be recognized as male for purposes of marriage.  There's no one legal definition of sex.  So just because the state or feds let you change a document doesn't mean that that new designation applies to everything.  Changing your driver's license (or any other document) does not change your sex.  It changes a letter on a document.  For some uses, that means you are now treated as the new letter.  But that letter doesn't necessarily change how you are seen by every aspect of government.

For me and my wife: we know we are a heterosexual couple and expect the State and Feds to recognize that.  That could bite us, as we have no guarantee that we would be seen that way.  But I'm willing to fight the law if need be, as is my wife.  I also can't imagine NOT marrying her.  But we have taken many legal measures to protect ourselves just in case, too.  And we know what the risks are if a court rules the wrong way.  I'd rather potentially break the law than not be married to her.  That said, should the state laws change to allow same sex marriage, it very well may one day make sense for us to divorce and remarry, as that would guarantee that our marriage couldn't be challenged (if the marriage was entered into illegally, even if it would be legal now, it wouldn't be considered valid).
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