Hawaii lawmakers shelve civil union bill
Legal News Center
Hawaii legislators have shelved a proposal to create civil unions for same-sex couples, indicating that the state legislature did not have enough votes to pass the law.
The state House Judiciary Committee declined to vote on the proposal after hours of testimony Tuesday without explaining the reasons for deferring debate. Hawaii was one of the first states to consider same-sex marriage when the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in 1996 that same-sex couples cannot be denied marriage, but a 1998 constitutional amendment defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Vermont, Connecticut and New Jersey each recognize civil unions for same-sex couples, while Massachusetts is the only US state to legally recognize same-sex marriage. Earlier this month, New Jersey became the first state to recognize same-sex marriage and civil unions from out of state jurisdictions.
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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.