Articles Posted in Uncategorized

With a median household income twice the national average and nearly three quarters of its population holding college degrees, Hoboken is known as an affluent community. But few people are aware of it diversity. Nearly 15 percent of Hoboken’s population was born outside the United States and a fifth speak a language other than English at home. Nearly 17 percent of its businesses are minority owned.

More than that, Hoboken reflects the sociocultural changes occurring around the country, in which racial and ethnic identity are becoming more difficult to define, and where we are forced to see people as people. Although racial classifications continue to be a part of the nation’s social structure, perceptions of racial identity are becoming increasingly less defined.

Beginning in 2000, the federal government allowed Americans to choose more than one racial category for the census count. When responding to the 2010 census, millions of people changed their racial identity from what they had selected 10 years earlier. Researchers who examined the results found no hard evidence to explain the change, but they surmised that evolving self-identity might have accounted for many of the changes. Remember Rachel Dolezal, the Caucasian woman in Spokane, Wash., who drew national attention for pretending to be African American? The fact that she could mislead so many people for so long shows how complicated race is in 21st century America.

The Supreme Courts June 26 decision permitting same-sex marriages nationwide will likely mean an early flurry of couples tying the knot after having waited many years for the chance.

But it might be a good idea for some couples to put the ceremonies and celebrations on hold long enough to get their financial affairs in order. I’m not trying to put a damper on the idea of a lifetime of wedded bliss. However, along with a range of new benefits, rights and protections previously afforded only to heterosexual couples, the ruling also means new responsibilities and obligations.

I have been helping lesbian and gay couples in Hoboken and Hudson County manage their legal and financial affairs since New Jersey adopted same-sex marriage nearly two years ago, and in the preceding years under civil unions. Before that I helped couples navigate the maze of existing laws to secure assets and protect their relationships. But nationwide marriage creates special circumstances.