| Registered
Domestic Partners In California
What
are registered domestic partners?
In
California the Family Code defines them as "two adults who have chosen
to share one another's lives in an intimate and committed relationship
of mutual caring."
Who
can be registered domestic partners?
1.
Both persons must have a common residence.
2.
They must agree to be responsible for each other's basic living
expenses.
3.
Neither person can be married or a member of another domestic
partnership.
4.
The two persons cannot be related by blood.
5.
Both persons must be at least 18.
6.
Both persons must either be members of the same sex, or over age 62 if
they are of opposite genders.
7.
A Declaration of Domestic Partnership must be filed with the California
Secretary of State.
What
are the rights of Registered Domestic Partners?
Adoption
* Registered domestic partners can use the same adoption procedures
used
by stepparents. These procedures will enable one partner to adopt the
other
partner's child or children, so that
both
partners have a legally protected relationship to the couple's child or
children.
Employment
Benefits
* Unemployment insurance. If a registered domestic partner must quit
his/her
job and relocate to accommodate his/her partner's job, he or she will
be
eligible to collect California unemployment benefits on the same basis
as a spouse who relocates under the same circumstances.
* Right to use sick leave to care for a partner or a partner's child.
If
an employer has a policy permitting employees to use sick leave to care
for spouses and children, the employer is required to provide equal
treatment
to domestic partners by permitting a registered domestic partner to use
sick
leave to care for a sick domestic partner or partner's child.
* Right to take paid leave to care for a seriously ill partner or a
partner's
child. A new family temporary disability insurance program will
provide
up to 6 weeks of wage replacement benefits
to
workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child,
spouse,
parent, domestic partner, or to bond with a new child. This law
will
go into effect July 1, 2004.
* Domestic partner health insurance. The new law requires insurance
companies
that provide employers with coverage of employees' spouses to offer
health
insurance coverage for employees'
domestic
partners and their children on the same terms. The law also permits
state
government employees to obtain health insurance benefits for their
registered
domestic partners.
* Right to continued health insurance coverage for domestic partners
and
children of deceased state employees and retirees. If a state employee
or retiree dies, his or her domestic partner and the children of the
domestic
partner are eligible for continued health insurance coverage if the
surviving
domestic partner has been enrolled in the state health insurance plan.
* Right to death benefits and survivor's allowances for surviving
partners
of county employees in selected counties. The surviving registered
domestic
partners of deceased employees of selected California counties (Los
Angeles,
Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Barbara) are entitled to the
same benefits given to surviving spouses.
Health
Care and Medical Emergencies
* Hospital visitation. Registered domestic partners have the right to
visit
one another in the hospital.
* Right to make medical decisions for your partner. A registered
domestic
partner has the same right as a spouse to make medical decisions for
his
or her partner if the partner becomes mentally
or
physically incapacitated.
* Right to file for state disability benefits on behalf of a disabled
partner.
A registered domestic partner can file claims for state disability
benefits
on behalf of a partner who is eligible for benefits but too
incapacitated
to file a claim for them.
* Right to be appointed conservator and to make legal & financial
decisions
for an incapacitated partner. If a registered domestic partner becomes
incapacitated and needs a court appointed conservator to handle his or
her finances and other personal matters, then his or her partner is
given
the same priority in being named the conservator as a spouse. The
partner
also has the right to object to the appointment of a conservator.
Protections
Upon Death of a Partner
*Right to inherit from the other partner if that partner did not have a
will or trust, as follows:
A. If the deceased partner was not survived by children,
grandchildren,
parents, siblings, or descendants of a deceased sibling, the Registered
Domestic Partner will inherit the entire estate.
B. If the deceased partner was survived by one child, or the
descendants
of a deceased child, or parents, or siblings, the Registered Domestic
Partner
will receive one-half of the estate.
C. If the deceased partner was survived by more than one child,
or
one child and the descendants of one or more deceased children, or the
descendants of two or more deceased children, the Registered Domestic
Partner
will receive one-third of the estate.
* Right to sue for wrongful death and infliction of emotional distress
when a partner is killed or injured. If a registered domestic partner
is
killed due to the negligence or wrongdoing of another person, his or
her
partner can bring a wrongful death suit to recover for lost financial
support
and companionship. A registered domestic partner can also bring a suit
for the infliction of emotional distress if he or she witnesses his or
her domestic partner being physically harmed
by
another person.
* Ability to use form wills and right to automatic appointment as
administrator
of a partner's estate. California has amended the official forms for
making
simple wills to allow registered domestic partners to check a box
leaving
their estates to their partners. A registered domestic partner also has
the same priority as a spouse in being appointed to be the
administrator
of a partner's estate after his or her death.
* Ability to draft a will or trust for a partner. Registered
domestic
partners are included in the exceptions to the law that prohibits
making
a transfer through a will or trust to the person who drafted the will
or
trust.
Tax
Benefits
* Employer-provided health insurance benefits for registered domestic
partners
can no longer be taxed as income by the State of California. However,
they
continue to be taxed as income by
the
federal government.
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The
Law Office of Raymond B. McFalone
Call
or email us for a free estate planning consultation!
Raymond
B. McFalone
1990
N. California Boulevard, Suite 830
Walnut
Creek, CA 94596
Phone:
(925) 944-1438
Fax:
(925) 932-8616
Email: ray@raymcfalone.com
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