If you are in a same-sex relationship in New Jersey, you may wonder about the potential that you may get a divorce if you are married or may get married in the future. Is your chance of getting divorced any different than that of a heterosexual person? This is among the questions that The Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles law school investigated.
A report collected data from eight states in all, including New Jersey, over varying lengths of time. The research looked at the rate of ended relationships involving divorces, civil unions and domestic partnerships. For marriages between men and women, the average divorce rate each year is said to be two percent. For marriages between gay or lesbian men and women, the divorce rate was found to be only 1.1 percent.
In contrast to the same-sex divorce rate, the percent of ended relationships for same-sex couples in civil unions and domestic partnerships were higher across all eight states. This average was closer to 1.7 percent. In New Jersey, data was compiled for couples in civil unions and domestic partnerships. In the former group, 0.5 percent of relationships ended each year. In the latter group, 1.3 percent of relationships ended each year.
It is perhaps important to note that this research was published a few months before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide. If you are interested in learning more about same-sex divorce in New Jersey, please feel free to visit the marital dissolution page of our family law website.
