It seems no one can “Keep Up with the Kardashians” lately. The famous-for-being-famous family is all over the media for everything from lip implants to baby bumps to marriage and divorce drama. Anything to be in the spotlight.
But it was the family “patriarch” who has recently been the one making headlines. Bruce Jenner will no longer be Bruce. For a world famous athlete, father and grandfather, this revelation has some people shaking their heads.
What are the legal ramifications of this? If Bruce and Kris Jenner had not gotten divorced, could they still be legally married? If Bruce chooses to remarry, will the new marriage be valid?
Bruce is currently in transition. He is not yet legally a woman. In the eyes of the law he is still a man. Unless or until he legally changes his status to become a woman through all legal channels, including by changing his name and identity, then he will legally still be considered a man. The public perception of him may be that he is a woman, but he cannot legally be treated as a woman. In short, he could not legally marry a man in a state that does not recognize same-sex marriage.
This issue was addressed recently in the Arizona Courts by another famous transgender American, Thomas Beatie, in the case of Beatie v. Beatie, Thomas Beatie made headlines for being the “pregnant man.” He married his wife Nancy in Hawaii, had children, and the couple moved to Arizona. Unfortunately, the marriage deteriorated, and the couple filed for divorce. An Arizona trial court judge refused to grant the couple a divorce on the grounds that at the time, Arizona did not recognize same-sex marriage. The judge reasoned that if Arizona did not recognize the Beaties’ marriage, it could not—or there was no reason to—grant a dissolution of the unrecognized marriage.
That decision was ultimately overturned by the Court of Appeals, even before same-sex marriage became legal in Arizona. The Appellate Court determined that Thomas, although initially born a woman and continuing to have female organs, had legally changed his status from that of a female to a male. He had obtained an amended birth certificate indicating his sex to be male, and all other documentation indicated he was in fact a male in the eyes of the law. Although he retained the ability to bear children and had given birth to the couple’s three children, in the eyes of the law, Mr. Beatie was in fact a male, who was legally entitled to enter into a marriage with a woman. Arizona was legally obligated to recognize the marriage of Tom and Nancy and thus was legally obligated to grant a dissolution of their valid marriage.
Now that Arizona has legalized same-sex marriage, the Beatie case is not a significant jurisdictional case. If the case were to come before an Arizona court now, there would be no question the court could grant the divorce, because it would not matter whether Thomas was a man or a woman. Either way, the marriage would be recognized as valid and could be dissolved in Arizona.
The Beatie case brought a degree of attention to the legal and social issues transgender individuals face in our society. Bruce Jenner is now doing it in a much bigger way. It is not clear whether Bruce Jenner is legally, as well as physically, making the transition to a woman. One thing that is clear – he has certainly opened the public’s eyes to this issue.
Copyright © 2015 by Scoresby Family Law – J. Kyle Scoresby, P.C. All rights reserved.