Election of Domestic Partners for Heterosexual Partners
Effective January 1, 2020, the state of California Senate Bill No. 30, Election of Domestic Partners, removes another constraint for couples becoming Registered Domestic Partners. This law was proposed by Scott Wiener and approved by Governor Newsom on July 30, 2019. SB 30 gives heterosexual couples the choice to become registered domestic partners under California state law. This law amends several sections from the Family Code primarily dealing with adding heterosexual couples to sections previously held only for same sex and heterosexual couples over 62 years of age. The purpose of this law is to grant heterosexual couples the opportunity to share the same rights and responsibilities as spouses do. This means that under the state of California, couples of opposite genders, are no longer required to be married to be share the same legalities held by married couples, same sex couples, or couples of 62 years and older.
This law does not make it a requirement for heterosexual couples to register as domestic partners. It is simply an option and couples can choose to take no action regarding becoming a registered partnership under state law. No oppositions were found relating to the additions SB 30 brought upon the election of domestic partners. Although it is important to note that his law is only a state law. This means that federally, these couples are still viewed as single individuals for federal tax filing. If a registered domestic partnership wants to be terminated, the proper forms must be filled out, signed, and notarized before sent to the Secretary of State. The most economical and least complex way to terminate a domestic partnership is by meeting the requirements needed for the filing of the form, Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership. Some of these requirements include, being in a registered domestic partnership for less than five years, no children were born into or adopted into the partnership, and neither partner is pregnant. These examples are only some of the requirements needed in addition to a six-month period for the partnership to become dissolved. Otherwise, a domestic partnership that wishes to be terminated must follow a similar process as marriage divorce and file a petition to the California Superior Court to terminate the domestic partnership.
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