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A domestic partnership agreement is the equivalent of a prenuptial
agreement between partners who have registered as domestic partners
in California. Just like a prenuptial agreement enables parties
who are engaged to “opt out” of the requirements
imposed by the Family Code in favor of a personalized plan that
suits their personal needs, a domestic partnership agreement
permits soon-to-be registered domestic partners the same opportunity.
As a result of new dramatic change in the law
there has been a recent surge of interest in domestic partnership
agreements by soon-to-be state-registered domestic couples. Effective
January 1, 2005, all of California's family law rules that govern
married couples will apply equally to state-registered couples.
Under new Section
297.5 of the Family Code, registered domestic partners have
the same rights and responsibilities as spouses. No community,
quasi-community or "quasi-marital" property rights,
interests or obligations accrue during the term of a purely non-marital
cohabitation relationship that has not become a registered domestic
partnership.
Accordingly, all of the reasons that cause straight couples
contemplating marriage to enter into prenuptial agreements are
now equally applicable to partners who are considering registering
their domestic partnerships in California. For example, as with
any married couple, unless the parties enter into a domestic
partnership agreement to the contrary, all of the same principals
of property division and spousal support under the Family Code
will now govern domestic partners as well. For example, unless
the parties agree otherwise through a domestic partnership agreement,
the lesser-earning partner in a registered domestic partnership
will now be eligible for post-separation spousal support as determined
by a Family Court, based on statutory factors set forth under
the Family Code.
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