Account

Sign in to access your account and subscription

The Out-of-State Dissolution of Civil Unions

Can the subject matter jurisdiction of a family court extend beyond divorce and annulment into the broader realm of dissolution of the family? Does a family court have equity jurisdiction to dissolve a Vermont civil union and to adjudicate the division of property and ancillary economic claims? Does an out-of-state family court have jurisdiction to dissolve a Vermont civil union based on its power to enforce contracts and to adjudicate contractual disputes, including express or implied contracts between unmarried cohabitants? How does a state's version of the Defense of Marriage Act (referred to as a mini or junior-DOMA) factor into this analysis, if at all? Family lawyers are closely monitoring an emerging body of case law that seeks to answer some of these questions. In all likelihood, at some point in 2005, a state's highest court will weigh in on these issues, and that decision may potentially affect the degree to which family lawyers will succeed in securing out-of-state decrees on behalf of clients seeking to dissolve Vermont civil unions.

18 minute readMarch 30, 2005 at 08:28 AM
By
Mark Momjian
The Out-of-State Dissolution of Civil Unions

Vermont's civil union law went into effect on July 1, 2000. Since that time, more than 6000 civil unions have been performed there according to Vermont's Department of Health.

This premium content is locked for LawJournalNewsletters subscribers only

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE SINGLE SOURCE OF OBJECTIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS, PRACTICAL INSIGHTS, AND NEWS IN LawJournalNewsletters

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

Already have an account? Sign In Now

For enterprise-wide or corporate access, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or call 1-877-256-2473.

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2026 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Continue Reading

The volume and sophistication of work hitting law firm marketing departments is accelerating. That moves the burden from responding to being ready: ready with differentiated positioning, ready with competitive intelligence, ready to get a compelling pitch to the right client before a formal process even begins. That requires more sophisticated output, produced faster, by teams that are already stretched past capacity.

April 01, 2026

The annals of copyright decisions could provide a reasonably representative catalog of what our culture has been up to over the past 200 years. A Feb. 3 decision from the Southern District of New York is a case in point. It involves a sex-trafficking conspiracy, Tweets attacking a troubled crypto firm, and a claimed transfer of copyright ownership through a restitution order in a criminal case, all over an undercurrent of competing First Amendment and victim-privacy concerns.

April 01, 2026

Matthew McConaughey secured eight federal trademark registrations covering his voice and iconic catchphrases in a novel legal strategy aimed at combating AI’s unauthorized use of his voice and likeness. The move signals an important evolution in the power dynamics between talent/brands and the companies providing generative AI tools.

April 01, 2026