Sex Change Should End Alimony, Man Argues

[WMR]

Sex Change Should End Alimony, Man Argues
By PHIL DAVIS
AP

CLEARWATER, Fla. (March 28) - Lawrence Roach agreed to pay alimony to the woman he divorced, not the man she became after a sex change, his lawyers argued in an effort to end the payments.

But the ex-wife's attorneys argued Tuesday that the operation doesn't alter the agreement.

Less than a week after commissioners in nearby Largo drew national attention by firing the city manager after he announced he was a transsexual, lawyers for Roach and his ex-wife grappled in another transsexual rights case that delves into relatively uncharted legal territory.

Only a 2004 Ohio case has addressed whether or not a transsexual can still collect alimony after a sex change, those involved say.

"There is not a lot out there to help us," Circuit Judge Jack R. St. Arnold said.

Roach and his wife, Julia, divorced in 2004 after 18 years of marriage. The 48-year-old utility worker agreed to pay her $1,250 a month in alimony. Since then, Julia Roach, 55, had a sex change and legally changed her name to Julio Roberto Silverwolf.

"It's illegal for a man to marry a man and it should likewise be illegal for a man to pay alimony to a man," said John McGuire, one of Roach's attorneys. "When she changed to man, I believe she terminated that alimony."

Silverwolf did not appear in court Tuesday and has declined to talk about the divorce. His lawyer, Gregory Nevins, said the language of the divorce decree is clear and firm _ Roach agreed to pay alimony until his ex-wife dies or remarries.

"Those two things haven't happened," said Nevins, a senior staff attorney with the national gay rights group Lambda Legal.

Arnold found fault with several of Roach's legal arguments and noted that appeals courts have declined to legally recognize a sex change in Florida when it comes to marriage. The appellate court "is telling us you are what you are when you are born," Arnold said.

Ohio appeals court ruled in September 2004 that a Montgomery County man must continue to pay alimony to his transsexual ex-wife because her sex change wasn't reason enough to violate the agreement.

Roach, who has since remarried, said he has been unable to convince state and federal lawmakers to tackle the issue. He said he will continue to fight.

The case is the second transsexual rights showdown in Pinellas County in less than a week. On Friday, city commissioners voted 5-2 to fire Largo's city manager, Steve Stanton, after he announced he was a transsexual.

[RBA]

Nonsense

[KronoRed]

Julio Roberto Silverwolf is one of the funniest sounding names I've ever heard.

Carry on.

[Redsland]

I wonder why they got divorced.

[HotCorner]

Ace Ventura: What the... That's it! Einhorn is Finkle! Finkle is Einhorn! Einhorn is a man!

Ace Ventura: Oh, my GOD! Einhorn is a man!

[Joseph]

*cue Crying Game theme song*

[UKFlounder]

She's a man, baby.

[TeamCasey]

I think it makes an interesting argument.

[GAC]

She probably got his "jewels" when she married him. So it's only appropriate she now wants to wear them. :

[GAC]

Originally Posted by TeamCasey

I think it makes an interesting argument.

Check the chromosome count. Injecting someone with estrogen or testosterone, attaching this or cutting off that, and doing superficial (outward) "alterations", is not what defines male/female IMHO.

It can provide for some interesting situations in bars though.

[Spring~Fields]

Is alimony gender biased?

[Sea Ray]

Originally Posted by GAC

Check the chromosome count. Injecting someone with estrogen or testosterone, attaching this or cutting off that, and doing superficial (outward) "alterations", is not what defines male/female IMHO.

It can provide for some interesting situations in bars though.

Exactly right. Mutilating one's body and taking heavy duty doses of hormones does not change your sex. Our politically correct society needs to quit playing games with the definition of male/female. Unless you've had a bone marrow transplant, your sex is determined by a blood test:

XX-you're female
XY-you're male

Why make it more complicated than that?

[Yachtzee]

Never studied family law myself, but I would assume questions like alimony would be determined based on looking at all the facts. I've always just figured alimony was designed to compensate a woman who spent years working to keep up the household while the husband was the breadwinner. I would assume that, while a court may take a sex change into consideration, it would not be the only factor to be considered in determining whether to do away with the alimony. It's not like a sex change magically gave her a college degree and years of professional experience that could be used to help her support herself.

Now on the other hand, if she who is now he just happened to have a successful and financially secure career in her/his own right, then I would think that would be a different story.

[texasdave]

This can't be the same Julio Roberto Silverwolf to whom I was matched up with on E-Harmony, can it?

[RedFanAlways1966]

So never judge a book by it's cover
Or who you're going to love by your lover
Love put me wise to her love in disguise
She had the body of a venus
Lord imagine my surprise

(That, that) Dude looks like a lady
(That, that) Dude looks like a lady