Texas lawyers will soon be confronted with legal issues which did not exist five years ago, and whose full impact will develop over the next decade. Our law schools will be challenged to prepare new attorneys to address these looming changes.
Some of those issues will undoubtedly involve the dramatic changes to the institution of marriage. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia now recognize the creation of same-sex marriage. Texas does not, and likely will not, allow the creation of such marriages at any time in the foreseeable future. However, as a result of the recent decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (U.S. v Windsor), same-sex couples who marry, then move to Texas will bring with them new federal law issues, including social security matters, military law concerns, federal tax and estate planning challenges, and immigration questions, to name just a few. Some of these couples will undoubtedly decide to end their marriages, which will bring into play all of the property, custody, support, and related matters involved in the breakup of traditional marriages. Texas courts currently do not have jurisdiction to entertain same-sex divorces, per the 2010 decision by the Dallas Court of Appeals in the case of In Re J.B and H.B. Determining how to resolve these conflicts, which will spill over into many areas of practice in addition to family law, will pose real challenges to Texas attorneys.
