NJ Domestic Partnership Explained: The Definitive Guide

What’s a Domestic Partnership in NJ?

A domestic partnership in NJ is a legal relationship of an intimate nature entered into by two persons of the same or different sex. To establish the partnership, the partners must sign a Declaration of Domestic Partnership that meets the standards set forth in the Domestic Partnership Act. The partners must also file the document in the office of the Secretary of State.
In some ways, the domestic partnership is similar to a marriage… in that it allows the partners to enjoy certain rights and protections under NJ law. However, it also offers less breadth to those rights than a marriage.
The domestic partnership may provide entitlements and protections that a marriage does not provide. For example, the primary benefits available to domestic partners are as follows: The list above is not exhaustive and other benefits may also be available to persons who enter into a domestic partnership. However, domestic partnerships have had limited legal standing, leaving many partners unable to pursue legal actions that a married couple may otherwise have standing to pursue.
As mentioned above, the domestic partnership statute in NJ has provided the entitlement to certain health care benefits for domestic partners. It is limited to those employers who provide benefits to spouses. Also, the domestic partnership may provide the entitlement to workers compensation benefits upon the death (or injury) of one of the partners, so long as the employer provides benefits to employees who are married.
However, the entitlements to health care and workers compensation failing to pass the same muster as the rights provided to married couples, as a recent court case demonstrates. In that case , the NJ Appellate Court was tasked with determining whether same-sex domestic partners possess standing to pursue wrongful death and survival claims, where the deceased would have been able to assert his own claims if he were alive.
In the Scott case, the decedent died from injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle accident. At the time, he was in a long-term domestic partnership with his female partner. Plaintiff in the case filed suit against a supermarket chain, alleging that, but for certain acts of negligence on behalf of the supermarket corporation, the accident would not have occurred. Of concern was how Plaintiff would receive the proceeds of any settlement or recovery. Would it be taxed to her as income?
Defendant argued that, because Plaintiff was not the spouse of the decedent, she was not entitled to pursue a claim. The Appellate Court disagreed. The Court held that the wording of the Domestic Partnership Act suggested a legislative intent to provide domestic partners the same rights enjoyed by married couples. Among the rights enjoyed by married couples was the right to sue for wrongful death and/or survival claims.
Importantly, the Appellate Court noted that, because Plaintiff was a domestic partner within the meaning of the Domestic Partnership Act, and because that Act would be read in conjunction with the testimony of the Wrongful Death Statute, she enjoyed all the rights provided by such statutes. The Court reasoned that someone in a domestic partnership is, for all intents and purposes, the same as someone who is married.
Thus, the Court ruled that Plaintiff, as a domestic partner under the Domestic Partnership Act, possesses the right to pursue a wrongful death or survival claim based on the death (or injury) of her partner.

Eligibility Criteria

A party must be 62 years of age or older to enter into a domestic partnership (except for same sex couples entered into prior to this date). The parties must be either the same sex or different sex, and must be legally able to marry in New Jersey. Both parties must be qualified residents of New Jersey, and must be the sole dependent for federal tax purposes of the other party. The couple must live together in a shared, committed and financially interdependent relationship and can provide evidence of that, however they cannot be entitled (whether or not drawing benefits) to any federal, state, or municipal pension benefits as a result of that relationship. There can be no more than one previous domestic partnership. The parties cannot have a parent-child relationship or be siblings. The parties cannot have been as registered with any New Jersey Domestic Partnership Registry at any time prior.

Registering for Domestic Partnership

To register as a domestic partnership in New Jersey, couples must complete an application and file it with the proper state office, along with required documentation. The application is called a "Certificate of Domestic Partnership." In these documents, partners are asked to provide their Social Security numbers, as well as certain information that proves their eligibility for a domestic partnership. Accompanying this information must be a few documents that confirm the identity of the applicants and show that they otherwise meet the necessary qualifications.
Applicants must each be at least 62 years old and must be living together in a permanent, committed relationship. The couple’s application must show supporting proof that they live at the same address and have done so for the last 18 months. Copies of utility bills, insurance policies, and bank statements qualify for this requirement. Both partners must be residents of the state of New Jersey for at least the last 30 days. If either partner is currently married to someone else or has entered into a civil union or another domestic partnership, the couple will have to provide proof that marriage or civil union has been dissolved.
Once the couple has completed their application and gathered the necessary documents, they must locate their local registrar where one or both partners live. The couple has to pay a fee of about $28 to $35. The couple, once their domestic partnership registration is approved, will receive a "Certificate of Domestic Partnership," which will have the names of the partners, date of birth, registration number, and the date that registration became effective.
Once a domestic partnership has been registered, the couple will have the same rights under the law as married spouses.

Rights and Benefits of Domestic Partners

Domestic partners in New Jersey are granted a number of the same rights and benefits as those enjoyed by heterosexual married couples under the state’s Domestic Partnership Act. In particular, domestic partners are entitled to:
The state also provides that health care providers must honor any advance directive made by either member of the couple, as if it were a directive made by either spouse.
Property Rights
Under the Domestic Partnership Act, property obtained after a couple enters into a domestic partnership is owned equally by both parties. Any such property acquired before entering into the partnership is not subject to equitable distribution, but is accessible to the other partner in the event of death or incapacity.
Tax Benefits
Domestic partners are not required to pay New Jersey state income taxes as a result of their partnership. Similarly, partners can claim each other as an exemption on their federal tax returns.

Ending a Domestic Partnership

If a domestic partnership is no longer working out, it can be reconstructed or terminated, just like a marriage. The process of dissolution is called dissolution of a domestic partnership and, like a dissolution of a marriage, must begin with a complaint filed in New Jersey Superior Court. As with a divorce case, there are many issues involved in a domestic partnership dissolution, including distribution of property, an alimony-style support obligation in cases where one partner is dependent upon the other (alimony is not an option in a domestic partnership dissolution), the parenting of children, and liability for debts incurred during the partnership. A court can also issue restraining orders to provide for protection from domestic violence .
Domestic partnership cases are heard in the Family Division of the Court and are contested most often for financial reasons. By law, courts must be sensitive to the fact that the two people were not married at the time they handled the issues of property division and support. Some provisions which apply in a divorce case do not apply in a domestic partnership dissolution, and vice versa.
The process begins with the filing of an action, a notice to the other party, and the filing of an answer to the action. The court may require parties to engage in mediation to settle issues in the case. If parties cannot settle, the matter will be scheduled for trial. As with a divorce case, while a domestic partnership dissolution is pending, the court has the power to issue emergent relief to the parties and any children involved.

Domestic Partnership, Civil Union, and Marriage: A Comparison

It is interesting to compare the concepts of domestic partnerships, civil unions, and marriages in NJ. All three are relationships between individuals. One major difference is in the number of personal relationships that are permitted. As discussed above, domestic partners cannot have out-of-state partners. Domestic partners also cannot enter into multiple domestic partnerships. However, both domestic partners and those in civil unions can have out-of-state partners. Moreover, as discussed above, domestic partners must file for a dissolution within six months if they become an opposite-sex couple who can marry, while couples with civil unions do not have that requirement.
As described above, a civil union has almost the same rights as a marriage. Domestic partnerships and civil unions both exist as same-sex lawful marriages, as well as opposite-sex couples who cannot marry. In 2013, the NJ Supreme Court clarified that civil union cannot be terminated via divorce, because civil unions are not marriages. As such, domestic partners are terminated via dissolution, while civil unions are terminated via leave to dissolve. In conjunction with the Attorney General’s office, the NJ Supreme Court is currently analyzing the differences between dissolving a domestic partnership and terminating a civil union, and why the statutory requirements are different.
Overall, the NJ civil union is the most similar to the concept of marriage.

New Developments and Legal Updates

Challenges to the validity of same-sex marriage under section 1 of the DOMA were filed extensively in Federal Court this past spring. In one of the first decisions after the U.S. Supreme Court’s DOMA decision, the federal District Court judge in the District of New Jersey ruled on June 26, 2013 that New Jersey cannot constitutionally deny gay and lesbian couples the state marriage benefits. A preliminary injunction was issued immediately requiring marriage licenses to be granted to same-sex applicants.
New Jersey is one of those states. Following the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and the resulting federal court decisions finding it unconstitutional, New Jersey will likely become the latest state to define same sex marriages as legal marriages under NJ law. Currently, domestic partnerships are recognized under NJ law. Domestic partner licenses are valid for up to 6 months before they must be renewed. Prior to the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act , this was a means by which gay and lesbian couples could gain some state and federal benefits traditionally reserved for heterosexual couples. The repeal of DOMA has, among other things, invalidated the necessity for Gay and Lesbian couples to enter into domestic partnerships in order to receive some state and federal benefits such as spousal health benefits.
In addition to the above, in August 2013, the Division of Taxation issued Technical Bulletin 101, effective immediately allowing same-sex couples to be treated as married couples for New Jersey Gross Income Tax purposes. Taxpayers in same-sex marriages will be allowed to claim benefits such as married filing joint filing status, the spousal exemption, personal exemption for a spouse and health care coverage credits. As of September 2013, it appears that the State of New Jersey may now require that same-sex couples married in another state recognize that marriage when filing their taxes in NJ.