Marriage-Equality-Is-Here-In-Illinois
Converting-Civil-Unions-to-Marriage-In-Illinois
Marriage equality has reached Illinois and Cook County. As of June 1, the over 23,000 same-sex couples living in Illinois can legally be married throughout their state. Exactly two years before this date, Illinois began to recognize civil unions. However, on November 20, 2013, Illinois governor Pat Quinn signed the Illinois Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act bill into law to legalize same-sex marriage. Now, over six months later, the law has taken effect throughout Illinois. Although same-sex marriage was not legal in all of Illinois prior to Monday, Cook County was the first Illinois county to issue marriage licenses, as the law took effect February 2014. Fifteen other counties in Illinois followed suit and began issuing same-sex marriage licenses before June 1. Before the statewide legalization of same-sex marriage, Cook County had issued 1,635 marriage licenses. Illinois is now one of 19 states that legally recognize same-sex marriages.
Now, many same-sex couples that chose to have a civil union are converting their civil unions to marriages, giving same-sex couples more legal protection and rights. Civil unions may only be recognized in the state in which they were issued, but same-sex marriages will now also be recognized outside Illinois. Additionally, legalizing same-sex marriages allows couples to receive the same insurance benefits, survivor benefits, and the ability to file taxes as a couple, along with many other federal protections.
Illinois has come a long way since I first posted about same-sex marriages and civil unions in Illinois. If you have any questions regarding same-sex marriages, civil unions, pre-nuptial agreements or post-nuptials, please do not hesitate to contact me.
