{"id":1123,"date":"2013-06-26T10:35:51","date_gmt":"2013-06-26T14:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?p=1123"},"modified":"2013-06-26T10:35:51","modified_gmt":"2013-06-26T14:35:51","slug":"us-supreme-court-stikes-down-doma-prop-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?p=1123","title":{"rendered":"US Supreme Court stikes down DOMA & Prop 8!"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a historic decision earlier today, the US Supreme Court struck down the highly criticized Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) & the controversial California law known as Prop 8.\u00a0 As a lawyer and a human being I am thankful that our Supreme Court found the collective wisdom to treat all citizens equally regardless of their sexual orientation.\u00a0 Everyone deserves the right to be in a committed, happy, healthy, and government endorsed relationship.\u00a0 Marriage is unique in that it is both a civil\/legal contract and religious institution.\u00a0 These lines frequently get blurred and are the cause of much of the emotional rhetoric on this issue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are many benefits that are granted to married persons including but not limited to tax filing status, inheritance tax benefits, the ability to make health care decisions for their spouse, adoption of children,\u00a0and the list goes on.\u00a0 There is no legitimate reason that same sex couples should not enjoy these same government-bestowed rights and privileges.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For same sex couples, today’s decisions are historic, long overdue, and the simple recognition that the prior law was wrong and that your relationships have value.\u00a0 These decisions also present a wide range of new legal options, rights, and responsibilities.\u00a0 The Durst Firm, LLC is here to assist you in navigating these new possibilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a historic decision earlier today, the US Supreme Court struck down the highly criticized Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) & the controversial California law known as Prop 8.\u00a0 As a lawyer and a human being I am thankful that … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[28],"tags":[29,61,32,62],"class_list":["post-1123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-durstfirm-news","tag-divorce","tag-doma","tag-durst","tag-prop-8-equality"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6omM8-i7","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1327,"url":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?p=1327","url_meta":{"origin":1123,"position":0},"title":"Oral palimony agreements may still be valid & binding","author":"Sandy Durst","date":"September 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"As yesterday's post indicated, the NJ Supreme Court was scheduled to release its decision in the case of Maeker v. Ross today.\u00a0 Just moments ago, the decision was released and it is a reasonable, logical and fair opinion.\u00a0 While a more in-depth analysis will be forthcoming, the decision is god\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Durst Firm News"","block_context":{"text":"Durst Firm News","link":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?cat=28"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2998,"url":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?p=2998","url_meta":{"origin":1123,"position":1},"title":"Dividing retirement assets in a divorce","author":"Sandy Durst","date":"April 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Dividing Retirement Assets in Divorce: Key Legal Insights When couples divorce, dividing retirement assets is often one of the most significant and complicated parts of the property settlement. For family law practitioners, understanding the legal framework and potential pitfalls is essential to protecting clients' financial interests. Marital vs. Separate Property\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Durst Firm News"","block_context":{"text":"Durst Firm News","link":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?cat=28"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedurstfirm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/qtq80-cEyKZV.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedurstfirm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/qtq80-cEyKZV.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedurstfirm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/qtq80-cEyKZV.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedurstfirm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/qtq80-cEyKZV.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedurstfirm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/qtq80-cEyKZV.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1131,"url":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?p=1131","url_meta":{"origin":1123,"position":2},"title":"NJ Supreme Court gives both parents an equal voice in deciding last name of the child","author":"Sandy Durst","date":"August 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In a recent NJ Supreme Court decision, the rights of the non-custodial parent were placed on equal footing with those of the parent of primary custody when it comes to establishing the surname of the child.\u00a0 This is an important development in the law for the non-custodial parent. \u00a0 Parents\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Durst Firm News"","block_context":{"text":"Durst Firm News","link":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?cat=28"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1362,"url":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?p=1362","url_meta":{"origin":1123,"position":3},"title":"Court reluctant to set aside arbitrator’s decision in NJ divorce case","author":"Sandy Durst","date":"April 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"With the backlogs in many county family courts throughout New Jersey, divorce litigants are exploring alternative methods of resolving their divorce proceedings.\u00a0 The traditional litigation can be time consuming.\u00a0 One such method of alternate dispute resolution (ADR) is arbitration. \u00a0 There are potential benefits to arbitration.\u00a0 Those benefits include the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Durst Firm News"","block_context":{"text":"Durst Firm News","link":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?cat=28"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1172,"url":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?p=1172","url_meta":{"origin":1123,"position":4},"title":"The Role of Special Needs Trusts in Divorce cases","author":"Sandy Durst","date":"August 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It is well settled that in a divorce, both parents have an obligation to support a child until he or she becomes emancipated.\u00a0 The case summarized below the NJ Supreme Court was presented with a fact pattern that included an adult child who might never be emancipated do to autism\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Durst Firm News"","block_context":{"text":"Durst Firm News","link":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?cat=28"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1325,"url":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?p=1325","url_meta":{"origin":1123,"position":5},"title":"NJ Supreme Court to clarify the law on palimony","author":"Sandy Durst","date":"September 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Palimony - financial support when the parties are not married - is an available claim under NJ law.\u00a0 However, the right was greatly restricted by an amendment to the statute of frauds which required a written document or agreement in order to enforce or impose a palimony claim.\u00a0 The amended\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Durst Firm News"","block_context":{"text":"Durst Firm News","link":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?cat=28"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1123"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1124,"href":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1123\/revisions\/1124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}