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State Laws
Domestic Partnership Benefits – Same Sex Unions

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In the United States, the legal nature of domestic partnerships has changed over the past few years to include unions between people who are not married but who live together and share a common domestic purpose. The meaning of domestic partnerships has evolved to include same-sex domestic partnerships as well as heterosexual ones. In some jurisdictions domestic partnerships resemble the rights and obligations found in the institution of marriage.
 

Benefits Of Domestic Partnerships

 
In jurisdictions that permit same sex domestic partnerships, living together and sharing domestic life can also legally obligate the partners to comply with the states community property laws, which acknowledges the value each partner makes in the furtherance of their partnership.
 
The basic rule behind community property is that the partners will be obligated to equally share in the value of all property that is acquired during the course of the marriage, other than property that was either acquired by gift or through inheritance. Even if one partner is responsible for earning all or most of the money, all of the property acquired during the union is considered to be community property and therefore divisible by two.
 
While there are some significant differences in each state, all states have special laws that operate on the grounds that since both partners in a union contribute equally to the marriage, it follows that all property acquired during the marriage is the result of the combined efforts of both partners.
 
Sharing in the economic burden is not the only benefit to a domestic partnership, there are additional legal protections given to domestic partners that include:
 
The right of domestic partners to legally adopt children is a major benefit for those partners wanting to build a family.
 
The right of domestic partners to be protected by the laws of probate and is governed the states intestate succession laws. This means that a domestic partner can be legally entitled to receive the community’s property upon the death of the other, even if the deceased partner did not have a valid will. Each partner in a community property state and which also recognizes same sex unions, possess what is known in the law of probate, as the right of survivorship between the two domestic partners.
 
Domestic partners are legally allowed to have medical and emergency visitation rights with their partners. Under most domestic partnership states, domestic partnerships also apply to family leave benefits.
 
Domestic partners are also entitled to be included in all end-of-life documents including the right to obtain a durable power of attorney for purposes of making health care decisions relating to the partner.
 
Another benefit is the eligibility of one domestic partner to share in the others health and medical insurance benefits where one partner is entitled to group insurance from their employer.
 
Finally, perhaps the most significant benefit of domestic partnerships is that they are legally protected against discrimination based on marital status. This protection, in essence, provides domestic partners with the same rights and obligations of married couples in those states that permit same sex domestic partnerships.
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