Same-Sex Agreements & Registered Domestic Partnership Agreements
 Same-Sex Relationships
In California same-sex couples can register as domestic
partners. Registered Domestic Partners enjoy almost every right enjoyed by traditional
married couples.
Registering as Domestic Partners helps protect your
rights in same sex relationships and, in areas such as:
- Community property: assets are divided under the
California Family Code if the same sex relationship is dissolved
- Estate planning: you may protect the right to transfer
property to a domestic partner through an estate plan
- Health care issues: you can make health care decisions for
your partner in the same way a traditional married couple can
- Insurance coverage and employment benefits: Medical
coverage, sick leave and disability from public or private employers may extend to
Registered Domestic Partners
In order to register as Domestic Partners, you must be at
least 18 years, share a common residence and may not be married. People over age 62 of the
opposite sex may also register as domestic partners if they meet the same criteria.
Love and commitment come in many packages. Attorney
Judith C. Nesburn has worked with many same-sex couples in committed relationships to
protect their rights under the law.
California briefly recognized same-sex marriages, then
overturned the law with the passage of Proposition 8. The legal status of same-sex couples
who were married during that brief period is uncertain.
Because domestic partnerships are not recognized under
federal law, domestic partners are not yet eligible to receive Social Security retirement
benefits as a married spouse would enjoy, file joint federal income tax returns or claim a
married couple tax deduction.
If you want to create same-sex partnership agreements, or
if you are facing the end of your relationship and need help working out the terms of your
dissolution, contact Judith at the Law and
Mediation Offices of Judith C. Nesburn in Los Angeles, California.
| Attorney Judith C. Nesburn has been practicing in family
law since 1986, focusing on Mediation and Collaborative Divorce approaches. She has helped
parties in same-sex relationships enter into same sex or Domestic Partnership Agreements
prior to or during their partnership and reach agreement regarding their property, custody
and support issues at the time of a dissolution. |
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