Florida Courts Can Grant Divorces to Married Same-Sex Couples

The Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled on April 24 in Brandon-Thomas v. Brandon-Thomas, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 6051, 2015 WL 1874457, that a same-sex couple that married in Massachusetts but resides in Florida could seek a divorce in a Florida court.  The unanimous three-judge panel found that the state had no rational basis for treating such a marriage differently from other out-of-state marriages.  The ruling reverses a 2013 decision by Lee County Circuit … <Read More>


Florida Appeals Court Calls for Florida Supreme Court to Decide Marriage Equality Question

In a highly unusual move, most of the judges on the Florida Second District Court of Appeal have agreed to certify to the state’s Supreme Court the question whether a Florida trial court has jurisdiction over a divorce proceeding of a same-sex couple who were married in another state.  A panel of the court had rejected a request by the parties to refer the case to the Supreme Court on June 26, but the parties … <Read More>