Additional domestic partnership benefits start Thursday

Starting tomorrow, the “everything but marriage” law goes into effect. That means domestic partners who are already registered with the state will automatically receive the remaining state-granted benefits and responsibilities of married couples.

Registrations will continue to be done through the Secretary of State’s Corporations and Charities Division. But dissolution will be done
through the courts — like a divorce.

In related news, registrations have surged since voters approved the domestic partnership expansion in November. The typical rate was about 35 to 40 registrations per week before the election. For the past few weeks, an average of 90 couples have registered per week. The office does not ask for the sex of registrants and so there is no way to know how many registrants are couples over age 62 or same-sex partners.

Tags: Domestic partnership