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Thursday, Jul 24, 2008
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Should we register? - Things you should know before saying "I do"
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| Should we register? - Things you should know before saying "I do" | |
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by Robert Morrison -
Special to the SGN There has been much excitement in our community about the Washington Domestic Partnership Registration that became the law of our state in July of 2007. It granted 30 rights (and obligations) to partners who paid $50.00 and registered with the Secretary of State. I have heard several wonderful stories of couples who were partners for years and traveled to Olympia to register in person and about the celebrations that followed. Some of the rights granted by the 2007 law include: o Limited inheritance rights; o Obtaining medical information and making decisions for incapacitated partner; o Hospital visitation; o Health insurance rights with the state and certain school districts; o Title and rights to cemetery plots and rights of interment; o The ability to authorize dissection and autopsy of deceased partner; o The right to receive autopsy reports and to request to meet with the coroner to discuss autopsy findings; o The right to bring a wrongful death action; and o The right of a surviving domestic partner to be recognized on a death certificate. On June 12, 2008 a new and expanded domestic partnership registration law will take effect. The 2008 law expands the rights (and obligations) of state registered domestic partners to 178. It will bring many of the rights (and obligations) of marriage to registered partners. Now, this may sound great, and you may be tempted to rush out and register with your partner, but before you say "I do," there are some things you should know about the "obligations" part of the new law. One of the most sweeping "obligations" under the new law is that the community property laws for married people are extended to registered domestic partners. What this means is that unless you have a written domestic partnership agreement (described below), all income and assets accumulated by you and your partner after you have registered are owned 50/50 by the two of you. It also means that if you split up, the assets you or your partner owned before you registered as domestic partners or inherited or received as a gift during the relationship (commonly known as "separate property" in the marriage world), can be divided between the two of you if a court decides that would be "just and equitable." If you are not registered domestic partners, a partner's separate property is not "on the table" to be divided between the partners if they split up. If there is a large asset or income difference between you and your partner, this can be very important. In addition, child support, maintenance, and parenting plan obligations of married people apply to registered domestic partners. Even if you register as domestic partners, you have the option of having a domestic partnership agreement that will control the ownership of your assets and income. This is a legally enforceable contract between partners that will override the domestic partnership registration law and is recommended whether or not you are registered. The domestic partnership agreement will give you a roadmap to follow in a very emotionally difficult time and also can protect your assets if you were to pass away. Another major "obligation" of the new law is that once you have registered as domestic partners, in almost all circumstances, you will have to go through the court system just like getting a divorce in order to terminate your registration. This probably means needing lawyers and significant expense. The court will decide how to divide your property and, as noted above, may give your assets from before the relationship to your partner. The 2007 law allowed one partner to terminate the registration by giving the other partner proper notice but except for unusual situations, the 2008 law doesn't allow a non-court termination even if both partners agree to the termination and there is nothing in dispute. If you are already registered but don't want the expanded "obligations" of the new law to apply to you, you must terminate your registration before the new law comes into affect on June 12. If you do not, you will be "grandfathered" into the new law as if you had registered after it came into effect. The 2008 law is in many ways a big step forward toward "marriage equality" for our community but it also brings with it some legal obligations that need to be looked at very closely when deciding whether or not to say "I do." For over 20 years, Rob Morrison has been offering legal planning, counsel, and document preparation services to clients with a focus on Wills, Estate Planning, Probate, Trusts, Domestic Partnership Agreements, Adoptions, Assisted Reproduction Agreements, and Guardianships. He is conveniently located in downtown Seattle at the One Union Square Building, 600 University Street, Suite 1928. For a free consultation, contact Rob at (206) 587-3737 or RobM@Morrison-Legal.com, or visit www.Morrison-Legal.com to learn more. |
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