The 21st century affords couples, traditional and non-traditional, the opportunity to legalize their bond of love, trust and economics in one form or another. And although most people establish their legal bond out of love, there are still many who marry for the legal status, which comes with rights and responsibilities. The extent of those rights and responsibilities depend tremendously on the “legal bond” that was created. Conversely, when the parties choose to dissolve their legal bond, the established rights may be limited by the legal status created by their union. Divorce, legal separation and annulment have different impacts on the legal rights of the parties involved. Divorce, uncontested or contested, has the greatest affect on both parties’, legal rights and obligations. Divorce is the legal dissolution of not only the emotional bond, but the economic partnership that was established. Therefore, because it affords both parties the most in the legal sense, it has the greatest impact on both parties. Divorce usually consists of determination of child custody, child support and property distribution, among other things. Legal separation, has a very similar affect on the legal status of the union. When parties are legally separated, they usually decide child custody, the amount of child support to be paid (as well as spousal support if any) and the distribution of property. However, with a legal separation the accrual of “marital benefits” is terminated. For instance, once parties legally separate their mutual pension/retirement benefits acquired after that date are no longer subject to distribution when they divorce. The parties may continue to file their federal tax returns joint, may continue to receive health benefits from their spouse’s provider and may continue to hold accounts in joint names. Annulment, on the other hand, is a complete eradication of any and all rights or obligations once established by the union. When parties annul a union, they are legally wiping out the existence of the marriage, thereby waiving any past or future interests in any entitlements that arose from the marriage.

Dissolution of the Union Depends on the Legal Status:
There is marriage (including same sex), Civil Union and Domestic Partnership, dissolving the union depends on which of these is considered legal status by the state. Civil Union is a particular state’s creation of a law acknowledging the legal existence of lesbian and gay unions. States that do not acknowledge same sex marriage usually permit civil unions or domestic partnerships, if any at all. Civil unions exist in only three places: Vermont, New Jersey and Connecticut. No federal protections are included with a Civil Union, and although Civil Unions offer some of the same rights and responsibilities as marriage they only exist on a state level.
Domestic partnership is the legalization of unions by some states and municipalities where same sex marriage is not acknowledged. The few states that do have domestic partnership registries, those being California and New Jersey, have very different laws regarding them. Some, like the recently passed California domestic partnership law, comes with many rights and responsibilities while others offer little or no benefit to the couple. More specifically, unlike marriage, one state’s recognition of a civil union or domestic partnership does not afford them recognition of their union if they move to another state. Even though each state has its own laws around marriage, if someone is married in one state and moves to another, their marriage is legally recognized. However, as gay marriages become legal in other states, this status may change.
Obviously, marriage (including same sex in most states) is a legal entity established and recognized regardless of the state. Although each state may have their own procedural rules for establishing a marriage, the union itself is right granted by the federal Constitution. In 1997 the General Accounting Office released a list of 1,049 benefits and protections available to heterosexual married couples. These benefits range from federal benefits, such as survivor benefits through Social Security, sick leave to care for ailing partner, tax breaks, veterans benefits and insurance breaks. They also include things like family discounts, obtaining family insurance through your employer, visiting your spouse in the hospital and making medical decisions if your partner is unable to. civil unions and domestic partnerships protect some of these rights, but not all of them. Again, these benefits are limited in Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships, depending on the state.

Dissolving a Civil Union or Domestic Partnership:

Unlike marriage, civil unions may be dissolved only in the states that recognize them. However, some of the states that permit civil unions have dissolution procedures very much like divorces. The major difference, as is the same for divorce, may be the state’s procedural rules i.e. the residency requirements of the parties.

Domestic partnerships, too, typically can only be dissolved in states that acknowledge their existence. The few states that have legalized domestic partnerships vary in the methods they instituted to dissolve the union. In California, for example, dissolving a domestic partnership requires that the domestic partnership be registered there (even the partners never lived there) or have lived there for a certain number of years before filing.

In either a Civil Union or Domestic Partnership, because the rights afforded the parties to the union are not as vast as married couples, it is advisable to speak with an experienced family law attorney. Additional documents, such as a Cohabitation Agreement, may be helpful in addressing particular issues like property division and spousal support that the courts cannot address in such unions.