Domestic Partnerships

Assistance with Domestic Partnership Issues

Lerandeau & Lerandeau, Attorneys at Law – Fresno, California

While the State of California does not recognize same-sex marriages, it does recognize couples who are in a committed relationship as domestic partners. At Lerandeau & Lerandeau, Attorneys at Law, in Fresno, California, we help our clients enter into domestic partnership agreements and represent them if that partnership ends.

Domestic Partnerships in California

On January 1, 2005, California Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2003 took effect. The Act provides couples living in registered domestic partnerships with similar rights and responsibilities already given to married couples. Those rights and responsibilities include the following:

• Healthcare
• Estate planning and inheritance rights
• Governmental benefits
• Insurance proceeds and retirement benefits
• Parental rights
• Community property
• Financial support and child support after dissolution of a domestic partnership

To be eligible for a registered domestic partnership, the parties must:

• Share a common residence
• Agree to share basic living expenses
• Not be related by blood so that they would not be eligible for marriage
• Be over the age of 18
• Be the same sex, or of different sexes, one must be either over age 62 or eligible for Social Security old age benefits

Helping our clients establish a domestic partnership requires attention to detail. It is critical to draft a domestic partnership agreement that clearly spells out the legal rights of both parties and the legal and financial consequences if the partnership is dissolved.

Dissolving a Domestic Partnership

Just as a domestic partnership can be legally established, it can be legally dissolved as well. Child custody and visitation and child and spousal support issues can be just as heated as they would in a standard divorce. We encourage couples seeking to end a domestic relationship to consider mediation in order to facilitate positive relationships between ex-partners and any children in the future.

There are tax-related issues that an attorney needs to be aware of when it comes to terminating a domestic partnership. Federal tax law does not recognize or account for domestic partnerships. If the court orders one party to pay support to the other, the payor cannot deduct that expense and the payee has to pay taxes on it. Our exclusive family law practice allows us to focus on these specific issues and communicate that information to our clients.

Contact Us

For more information, or to schedule an appointment with an experienced lawyer, please contact us.