"I DO, DON’T I?"
Mary K. Stroube, professor of Counselor Education
 Landmark domestic partnership legislation that passed more than two years ago remains a well-kept secret among gay men and lesbians, says Mary Stroube. For many, she says, it's the first time they've had to deal with legal concepts like community property or joint custody.
Under California's Assembly Bill 205, all state laws that apply to marriages and married spouses, except income tax law, apply to registered
domestic partners. Stroube, who is also an attorney, wrote the book for same-sex couples as well as for the attorneys, accountants, financial planners and counselors who advise them.
"What became apparent to me as I wrote the book is that this law is really about social change," Stroube says.
To benefit from the law, same-sex domestic partners must be willing to be open about their relationship to anyone-an employer, a mortgage lender, a health club manager-who provides services and benefits to married couples.
Stroube says this will mark a big change for the many gay men and lesbians who have concealed their relationships. At the same time, businesspeople and employers must be prepared to treat same-sex couples no differently than married couples.
Despite the law's broad reach, Stroube believes AB 205 grants registered domestic partners separate-but-unequal status, mainly because it conflicts with federal law that doesn't recognize such partnerships. For example, under California's law, domestic partner
income is now community property, while under federal law a share of one partner's income could be regarded-and taxed-as a gift to the other partner.
(WIT'S END PRESS, 2005, $23.95) |
