Same Sex Marriage Called Domestic Partnership

According to a 2004 report by the Asian American Federation of New York, there were an estimated 19,213 Asian Pacific American same-sex households in 2000. Filipinos were the second largest group of gay and lesbian partner households.  Many of these households undoubtedly were in or subsequently entered into domestic partnerships. Unfortunately, some domestic partnerships, just like marriages, don’t last. Whether because of personality conflicts, financial pressures, abuse, family disagreements, infidelity, or simply falling out of love, many people decide every year to end their domestic partnership for a fresh start in life. If you’re currently contemplating ending your domestic partnership or are planning on entering into one, it’s important that you know how to legally end it if your, “happily ever after,” doesn’t turn out so happy after all.

In California, domestic partnerships are generally established when two people of the same sex, or two people of opposite sexes when one or both are over 62 years of age, file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the Secretary of State. Registered domestic partners receive the same rights, benefits and protections as married spouses. Conversely, they are subject to the same obligations, duties and responsibilities under the law. This means that if you want to end your domestic partnership, you must take certain administrative and/or legal steps to officially end it. Unless you want to jeopardize your legal rights when it comes to important issues such as division of property, support, child custody, etc., you can’t just walk away.

There are two ways to end a registered domestic partnership in California:

a.      Filing a Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership with the Secretary of State or

b.      Initiating a dissolution proceeding in Superior Court.

The first option is the simpler of the two. However, the domestic partnership must meet all ten requirements of California Family Code section 299(a) at the time of filing to qualify for this option. The ten requirements are:

1.      Both partners sign the Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership,

2.      There are no children born out of the relationship, whether before or after registration of the partnership, no adopted children after registration, and to the best of their knowledge, neither partner is pregnant,

3.      The partnership has a duration of five years or less,

4.      Neither partner has any interest in real property, with the exception of a lease for property occupied by either party that meets certain requirements,

5.      There are no unpaid obligations, totaling more than $4,000, incurred by either or both parties after registration of the partnership, excluding that related to an automobile,

6.      The total fair market value of all community property assets is less than $25,000, with some exceptions, and neither party has separate property valued at more than $25,000, with some exceptions,

7.      The partners have created and signed an agreement, and any other documents needed to carry out the agreement, that settles the division of community assets and assumption of community liabilities,

8.      Both partners waive any support rights that they may have from the other partner,

9.      Both parties have read and understood the Secretary of State’s brochure on ending a domestic partnership, and

10.   Both partners want to end the domestic partnership.

If all of the requirements are met, the partnership is considered dissolved after six months. Most domestic partnerships don’t meet all of the section’s requirements. It’s really meant for domestic partnerships that are short, doesn’t involve much property or obligations and, most difficult of all to meet, where the partners are in agreement about pretty much everything. This leads us to the second option, which is to initiate a dissolution proceeding.

Initiating a dissolution proceeding is similar to initiating a divorce proceeding. This means that one party must file a Dissolution of Registered Domestic Partnership, after which the other party files a response. Both partners must then file the necessary paperwork and motions that normally accompanies a divorce. Just like a divorce, the domestic partnership won’t be dissolved until at least six months have passed from the date of filing and the parties have agreed to a settlement or gone to trial. Initiating and going through with a dissolution proceeding is a complicated and often times, stressful, process. Be sure to contact an experienced attorney to guide you through and adequately protect your rights.

Robert Uy is a Partner at the Law Office of Lien L. Uy, where he practices primarily immigration, family law, domestic violence law and elder law.

The Law Office of Lien L. Uy is located at 436 14^th St., Oakland, CA 94612. (510) 893-3294