Same-Sex Marriage Attorney Serving Gainesville, FL
15+ years’ experience, 8 licenses, and 4.9/5 Reviews
Why Work With Mark E. Sawicki, P.A.
4.9/5 Reviews
Our clients love us, and you will, too.
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Unwavering in privacy and strategic handling of sensitive legal matters.
No Hidden Fees Ever
Fair and transparent billing
Work Directly With Mark
Work directly with Mark, a divorce and family law attorney with 15+ years’ experience.
Same-Sex Marriage in Gainesville: Let’s Protect What You’re Building
Getting married is the easy part. Making sure your marriage protects your property, your children, and your medical decisions takes planning. As a same sex marriage attorney in Gainesville, FL and LGBTQ+ ally with 15+ years’ experience, I help couples across Alachua County put the right agreements in place — before and after the wedding.
What a Same-Sex Marriage Attorney Actually Does in Florida
Same-sex couples have been able to marry in Florida since January 2015, and nationwide since Obergefell v. Hodges. Marriage equality settled whether you can marry. It did not settle what your marriage means for your assets, your parental rights, or your estate.
Those depend on documents you choose to put in place: a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, a second-parent or confirmatory adoption that makes both of you legal parents in all 50 states, and the incapacity paperwork most couples never think about until they need it.
Many same-sex couples were together for a decade or more before Florida let them marry, and Florida’s property rules generally look to the legal date of marriage — not the year a life together actually started. With 15+ years’ experience and licenses in 8 jurisdictions, I make sure that gap gets addressed on paper instead of discovered later.
Getting Married in Alachua County: What the Clerk Requires
The requirements are the same for same-sex and opposite-sex couples — no extra step, no extra paperwork, no separate line. Here is what the process actually looks like in Gainesville.
The Steps, In Order
Florida requires every applicant to read the Family Law Handbook before a marriage license is issued, a rule that has been in place since 1999. The Alachua County Clerk lets you begin the application online, and then both of you finish the process in person at the courthouse in Gainesville.
Bring photo identification that shows your date of birth. The Clerk accepts a Florida driver’s license or ID card, a U.S. passport, a foreign passport stamped by U.S. immigration, or a driver’s license or ID issued by another state, a U.S. territory, Canada or Mexico. A three-day waiting period may apply, so ask the Clerk how it affects your timing before you lock in a ceremony date.
After the ceremony, the completed license goes back to the courthouse to be recorded — by mail in the envelope the Clerk provides, or in person — and you receive a certified copy for your records. License fees change from year to year, so confirm the current amount with the Clerk’s office rather than trusting a figure you found online.
Get a Free 20-Minute Consultation with Mark
Facing divorce, custody, or family issues? Mark Sawicki offers compassionate, determined guidance to help you move forward.
Serving Gainesville and North Central Florida
I am licensed to practice throughout the State of Florida — one of 8 jurisdictions where I hold a license — with offices in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach Gardens. For couples in Gainesville that means you are not choosing between someone nearby and someone whose practice is built around LGBTQ+ family and reproductive law. You can have both.
Where Alachua County Family Matters Are Handled
Family law matters arising in Alachua County are heard in Florida’s Eighth Judicial Circuit, which also covers Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy and Union counties. Marriage-related filings — a name change petition, an adoption, a parentage matter — go through the Clerk of Court in Gainesville.
The pieces that protect a marriage most are not courtroom matters at all. A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, a designation of health care surrogate, a durable power of attorney and updated beneficiary designations are signed privately, and they carry most of the weight.
Where a court is involved — a second-parent or confirmatory adoption, or a name change that requires a petition — the filing follows the county you live in, and knowing which circuit governs yours from the start avoids delays later. If you are not certain which of these your situation calls for, that is exactly what a first conversation is for.
What Makes Mark E. Sawicki, P.A. Different
At Mark E. Sawicki, P.A., we combine business-minded strategy with emotional intelligence to protect both your financial security and your family’s well-being. Unlike big firms where you’re just another case number, Sawicki Law offers:
Industry Standard
Impersonal service / Long Response Time
Hidden or unpredictable fees
Limited expertise
General family law
Slow response times
Mark E. Sawicki, P.A.
Personal attention & direct access to Mark
Fair and transparent billing – No Hidden Fees Ever
Licensed in 8 jurisdictions including the U.S. Supreme Court
Specialization in high-asset, complex, and LGBTQIA+ divorce
4.9/5 Reviews for responsiveness & results
Frequently Asked Questions About Same-Sex Marriage in Florida
Marriage equality answered one question and opened several others — about parentage, property, and protection across state lines. Below are the questions Gainesville couples ask me most.
Is same-sex marriage still legal in Florida?
Yes. Same-sex couples have been able to marry in Florida since January 2015, and nationwide since the Supreme Court decided Obergefell v. Hodges. If you have seen headlines about challenges to that ruling and want to understand what they could mean for your family, that is worth a conversation — my LGBTQ+ family law page covers the protections that do not depend on marital status at all.
Do same-sex couples need a different marriage license in Alachua County?
No. The application at the Gainesville courthouse, the license fee, the three-day waiting period for Florida residents who have not completed a premarital course, and the 60-day validity are identical for every couple. If you are changing your name after the ceremony, my name change page explains when the Clerk can handle it and when a court petition is required.
My spouse gave birth. Am I automatically the legal parent?
It is one of the most common questions from couples starting a family. Florida recognizes a presumption of parentage for married couples, but a presumption and a court order are not the same thing, and families who travel or may move out of state often want the certainty of an order. Many couples in that position pursue a confirmatory or second-parent adoption. Whether it makes sense for yours is worth discussing before your child arrives — as are the surrogacy agreement and same-sex family building options if you are still in the planning stage.
What if the marriage does not work out?
Florida generally requires that one spouse has lived in the state for six months before a case can be filed, and the case is heard where you live — for Gainesville, that is the Eighth Judicial Circuit in Alachua County. Property from the years before the legal marriage is usually the most complicated piece for couples who were together long before 2015, and I cover it in more detail on my same-sex divorce page.
How do I find a same sex marriage attorney in Gainesville, FL?
Look for someone whose practice is actually built around LGBTQ+ family law rather than someone who handles these matters occasionally, and confirm they are licensed in Florida — your marriage is governed by Florida law regardless of where the attorney’s office sits. Ask what they have actually done: prenuptial agreements, confirmatory adoptions, name changes, parentage orders. A first consultation here is free and runs twenty minutes, which is usually enough to tell whether your situation needs one document or five.
Client Reviews
Hear from some of our clients.
Toni M.
Google Review
“We cannot thank Mr. Mark Sawicki and the entire team enough for guiding us through the adoption of our precious daughter… their compassion, patience, and unwavering support gave us hope during a journey that could have felt overwhelming… If you’re looking for a family lawyer who combines professional excellence with genuine care, we highly recommend Mark E. Sawicki.”
Christian H.
Google Review
“We used this firm for our step-parent adoption, and they made the entire process easy and stress-free… As a same-sex couple, it meant a lot to work with people who treated us with kindness, respect, and professionalism… He is very down-to-earth, easy to talk to, and truly fights hard for his clients.”
Bill K.
Google Review
“Mark has been a fantastic resource for my new journey into marriage, and he has helped friends of mine out of unpleasant situations. I highly respect his honesty and integrity, and will gladly refer him to anyone needing competent and dedicated representation.”
Get a Free 20-Minute Consultation with Mark
Facing divorce, custody, or family issues? Mark Sawicki offers compassionate, determined guidance to help you move forward.