Michigan, amongst all the states in the U.S., embraced same-sex marriage in June 2015. According to the Supreme Court’s decision, when you marry your partner in Michigan, every other state will legally recognize you as a couple. You can get to enjoy all the benefits that opposite-sex spouses have, such as inheritance, social security, and immigration status.
The laws in Michigan also allow same-sex spouses to acquire legal relationships with their children. You may get legal parental rights that would enable you to participate in the child’s school activities fully, make their medical decisions, and have influence over how to raise them. The right to raise your children allows you to mention them as the inheritors of your properties.
There are different ways you can establish parental rights. Often, it involves adoption. However, if both you and your spouse may bear a child, and one of you gets a child through artificial insemination, the child automatically becomes yours legally. You may as well consider securing the rights of the non-biological mother by getting a stepparent adoption.
With the right to exercise same-sex marriage also comes the right to divorce. The issues that face opposite-sex marriages are the same issues that same-sex marriages meet. It involves the division of property and the handling of assets.
Since the current Michigan laws are gender-neutral, you may not face issues when dealing with child custody and child support. If you are non- biological parents in an unmarried same-sex relationship, there may not yet be a reliable way for you to establish parental rights. A good lawyer may guide you on the best way forward.
This information is only to give you a glimpse on the laws governing same-sex marriages. It is not legal advice.