Other MarriageEquivalent Laws

48  |  A Legal guide for Lesbian and Gay Couples
Do I Have to Go to Court? (continued)
If only one partner wants to revoke the termination, he or she must file
a form called Notice of Revocation of Termination of Domestic Partnership
with the Secretary of State, and send a copy to his or her partner in the mail.
When you terminate your partnership by filing the one-page form
with the Secretary of State, you don’t have the right to have a court make
decisions about your property, and you can’t go back later and challenge the
division or any other element of your agreement with your former partner—
though you can sue to enforce agreements you and your partner made, if he
or she is not following through on them.
Resource
You’ll need more information about dealing with assets and debts
at the end of a relationship. Take a look at Nolo’s Essential Guide to Divorce, by
Emily Doskow, and Divorce & Money, by Violet Woodhouse with Dale Fetherling
(Nolo), for detailed information about all aspects of divorce. The California
Judicial Council website also has a great deal of information and advice in its selfhelp section, at www.courtinfo.ca.gov.
Other Marriage-Equivalent Laws
In eight other states (Washington, Oregon, Nevada, New Jersey,
Delaware, Illinois, Hawaii, and Rhode Island), same-sex couples can
enter into a civil union or domestic partnership. If they live in any of
these marriage-equivalent states (and maybe in some other states as well,
see below), the civil union or state-registered domestic partnership will
give them just about all of the legal rights of marriage under state law.
As with marriage, the federal agencies don’t currently recognize the legal
partnership bestowed by state law.
chapter 2  | Marriage and Marriage-equivalent relationships |  49
Requirements for a Civil Union or Domestic Partnership
To enter a civil union or state-registered domestic partnership, typically
both parties must be at least 18 years old, of sound mind, not related,
and not already in a marriage or another legal partnership. A civil union
license or domestic partnership registration is required. There is no
residency requirement for entering into a civil union or state-registered
domestic partnership. In most states you simply fill out the form and
mail it in to the appropriate government office, but in some states,
like Vermont, the civil union must be certified by a judge, a justice of
the peace, or a clergy member who lives in Vermont (or has a special
certification from the Vermont probate court).
Rights and Responsibilities of a Civil
Union or Domestic Partnership
Parties to a civil union or state-registered domestic partnership generally
accept responsibility to support each other just as spouses do, and the
rights that come with a civil union or domestic partnership are the same
as those granted to spouses in a marriage in whatever state you registered
in. These most typically include:
• use of family laws that cover annulment, divorce, child custody,
child support, alimony, domestic violence, adoption, and property
division, according to the marital property laws of your state
• the right to sue for wrongful death, loss of consortium, and
any other tort (personal injury) or legal claim related to spousal
relationships
• medical rights such as hospital visitation, notification, and durable
power of attorney (allowing partners to make health care decisions
for each other)
• family leave benefits and public assistance benefits
• the right to hold property as tenants by the entirety
• the right to adopt a partner’s child under stepparent procedures
• immunity from being compelled to testify against a partner, and the
same marital communication privileges as a spouse
50  |  A Legal guide for Lesbian and Gay Couples
• the right to file joint state tax returns (and typically the duty to file
your state tax returns as a married couple), and
• the right to inherit from each other without a will.
Although couples from other states can enter into a legal relationship
in these states, many of their home states will not acknowledge an out-ofstate registration for any purpose, including ending the relationship (see
below). Only a few states have recognized domestic partnerships and civil
unions for various purposes.
One of the oddest corners of uncertainty involves the issue of domestic
partnership or civil union registration in the marriage-equality states. It
would seem logical that if a state allows gay folks to marry, it would also
recognize a marriage-equivalent registration from another state. But that’s
not always the case, and the rules for interstate recognition have not been
fully resolved. If you move across state lines you should check with an
attorney to determine whether you also should register or marry in your
new home state.
Ending a Domestic Partnership or Civil Union
To end a civil union or marriage-equivalent domestic partnership you
must go to court, just as if you were married. Most states have residency
requirements: At least one party must have lived in the filing state for a
specified period of time, usually between six months and a year before
filing the petition for dissolution.
As we’ve discussed, whether other state courts will process the dissolution
of a domestic partnership or civil union is an open question. So far, one
Connecticut court refused to consider the Vermont civil union of two
Connecticut residents a contract for purposes of awarding support and
dividing property, and a Texas judge refused to grant a divorce to two men
married in Massachusetts. But in West Virginia and Iowa, judges have
granted divorces to couples who entered into civil unions in Vermont.
chapter 2  | Marriage and Marriage-equivalent relationships |  51
The New Jersey Civil Union Law and the Status
of New Jersey Domestic Partnerships
Since 2004, New Jersey has offered same-sex couples some legal protections
through domestic partnership registration. But in response to a New
Jersey Supreme Court order that same-sex couples be treated the same as
heterosexual couples under New Jersey law, the legislature enacted a civil
union law similar to that in Vermont, which took effect in February 2007.
Partners in civil unions in New Jersey have all of the same state rights and
obligations as married couples under state law. New Jersey law also forbids
both individuals and businesses from discriminating against civil union
partners.
If you were registered as domestic partners in New Jersey before February
2007, you can retain that status and the rights and responsibilities that came
with it, which are significant but not as extensive as those attached to the
new civil union status. For example, domestic partners don’t have the right
to sue for wrongful death, while civil union partners do. Unlike married
couples and those in civil unions, domestic partners will not be responsible
for each other’s debts (unless, of course, the debt was undertaken jointly).
Finally, while the domestic partnership law allows domestic partners to
ask for alimony or property sharing when a relationship ends, a judge does
not have to rule on these questions—even though it does require that the
relationship be ended formally through the courts. In contrast, civil union
partners have the right to an equitable distribution of property through the
courts, like married couples.
If you enter into a civil union, your previous domestic partnership is
automatically terminated. And as of February 19, 2007, the only couples
eligible for domestic partnership registration in New Jersey are those in
which both partners are 62 years old or older (they can be of the same sex or
opposite sexes).