Domestic Partners

• According to Article 297 of the California Family Code, domestic partners are, "two adults who have chosen to share one another's lives in an intimate and committed relationship of mutual caring."
  
  

Registry

• For a domestic partnership to become official---and therefore enjoy the same rights that married couples have in California---a couple must register with the Domestic Partnership Registry. This is done by filing a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the Secretary of State.
  
  

Conditions

• According to Article 297 of the California Family Code, a couple must meet the following requirements when they file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership to be legally recognized as domestic partners: share a residence, not married or officially partnered with anyone else, be over 18, be of the same sex or over 62-years-old, not be related by blood and consent to the partnership.
  
  

Rights

• Article 297.5 of the California Family Code states that domestic partners have the same rights and responsibilities as married persons in the State of California. Former partners have the same protections and responsibilities as divorced spouses, surviving partners have the same rights and protections as widows, and domestic partners have the same rights and responsibilities regarding children of either partner.
  
  

Federal Law

• Domestic partnerships are not recognized at the federal level under the Defense of Marriage Act. Domestic partners cannot jointly file federal taxes, for example, and the rights recognized by the State of California are not necessarily recognized by other states.