Man must pay despite new partnership

[AliceInWonderland]

Man must pay despite new partnership
Judge: Ex-wife’s lesbian relationship not marriage, payments to continue
The Associated Press
Updated: 5:17 p.m. PT July 23, 2007
LOS ANGELES - A judge has ordered a man to continue paying alimony to his ex-wife — even though she’s in a registered domestic partnership with another woman and even uses the other woman’s last name.

California marriage laws say alimony ends when a former spouse remarries, and Ron Garber thought that meant he was off the hook when he learned his ex-wife had registered her new relationship under the state’s domestic partnership law.

An Orange County judge didn’t see it that way.

The judge ruled that a registered partnership is cohabitation, not marriage, and that Garber must keep writing the checks, $1,250 a month, to his ex-wife, Melinda Kirkwood. Gerber plans to appeal.

'Irrationality of unequal scheme'
The case highlights questions about the legal status of domestic partnerships, an issue the California Supreme Court is weighing as it considers whether same-sex marriage is legal. An appeals court upheld the state’s ban on same-sex marriage last year, citing the state’s domestic partners law and ruling that it was up to the Legislature to decide whether gays could wed.

Lawyers arguing favor of same-sex marriage say they will cite the June ruling in the Orange County case as a reason to unite gay and heterosexual couples under one system: marriage.

In legal briefs due in August to the California Supreme Court, Therese Stewart, chief deputy city attorney for San Francisco, intends to argue that same sex couples should have access to marriage and that domestic partnership doesn’t provide the same reverence and respect as marriage.

The alimony ruling shows “the irrationality of having a separate, unequal scheme” for same-sex partners, Stewart said.

Unfair law?
Garber knew his former wife was living with another woman when he agreed to the alimony, but he said he didn’t know the two women had registered with the state as domestic partners under a law that was intended to mirror marriage.

“This is not about gay or lesbian,” Garber said. “This is about the law being fair.”

Kirkwood’s attorney, Edwin Fahlen, said the agreement was binding regardless of whether his client was registered as a domestic partner or even married. He said both sides agreed the pact could not be modified and Garber waived his right to investigate the nature of Kirkwood’s relationship.

Garber’s attorney, William M. Hulsy, disagreed.

“If he had signed that agreement under the same factual scenario except marriage, not domestic partnership, his agreement to pay spousal support would be null and void,” Hulsy said.


© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: Man must pay despite new partnership - U.S. Life - MSNBC.com

hahahhahaa poor guy, I do actually agree w/ him though even though I'm usually always 100% woman-sided.

[msdebagain]

^^^ he should pay her in pennies each month LOL

[A*O]

Is it any wonder that so many divorced men are bitter and hostile about their ex-wives?

[nwgirl]

^^ No shit. The proper thing to do for the ex-wife would be for her to agree to stop the spousal support. What a bitch - finding a loophole to keep fucking him while not actually fucking him. Nice.

[Sojiita]

Well if the damn US government would let us(gays and lesbians) marry( or have an equal equivalent even) then this problem would not even exist-fuck Bush and the anti-gay idiots who support him and his evil cabal.

I also hope that bitch gets the yeast infection from HELL!

[kchal]

Gee, do you think the nitwits will NOW see the stupidity in calling it anything other than marriage?
I live in MA where they do allow 'marriage' of men/men, women/women and it is still being debated here as some are 'offended' by it - but really, doesnt it come down to the separation of church and state - it is really mostly the church and religious zealots who IMHO want to make sure that it is not called 'marriage' but here is one example of what happens when you dont call a spade a spade.

[SVZ]

What a load of bullshit!

[AliceInWonderland]

Originally Posted by Sojiita

Well if the damn US government would let us(gays and lesbians) marry( or have an equal equivalent even) then this problem would not even exist-fuck Bush and the anti-gay idiots who support him and his evil cabal.

I also hope that bitch gets the yeast infection from HELL!

zomg! @ that last line Soj

and i do agree, maybe if this happened more often like on a grand scale (lesbians leaving their husbands for other women) it would definetly bcome legal to marry your own sex, whenever you hit white men in the wallet - change always happens in this country!

so all you lesbians out there, fake your love for a man, marry his azz, leave him and hook it up w/ your real love (make sure you recieve alimony though) and it'd be this massive movement! I swear, something would be done if that happened on a large scale!