For the full information, please see California Family Code Section 297.

Requirements for establishing a domestic partnership in California:

• Both persons file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the Secretary of State.
• Both persons share a residence.
• Neither person is married to someone else or is a current member of another domestic partnership.
• The two persons are not related by blood in a way that would prevent them from being married to each other in this state.
• Both persons are at least 18 years of age (except under certain provisions found in Family Code Section 297.1.)

Either of the following:

• Both persons are members of the same sex.
• One or both of the persons meet certain eligibility criteria under the Social Security Act and one or both of the persons are over the age of 62.

Both persons have the capacity to consent to the domestic partnership.

Domestic Partner Rights

Registered domestic partners shall have the same rights, protections, and benefits, and shall be subject to the same responsibilities, obligations, and duties under law, whether they derive from statutes, administrative regulations, court rules, government policies, common law, or any other provisions or sources of law, as are granted to and imposed upon spouses.

Income Tax Returns

Domestic partners should use the filing status that is used on their federal income tax returns (or which would have been used had they filed federal income tax). For the purposes of state income tax, earned income may not be treated as community property.

Vesting

No manner of holding title is specified by the statues. Most companies accept vestings that mirror those for husbands and wives.

Examples:

Will Jones and Tim Barber, domestic partners, as joint tenants.

Sarah Wilson and Nancy Smith, domestic partners, as community property

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