Attorney & Counselor At Law
Fountain Plaza Office Building
23461 South Pointe Drive, Suite 350
Laguna Hills, CA 92653-1546
Telephone: (949) 206-9900
Call Toll-Free
1-877-77-DIVORCE
(1-877-773-4867)
If you are in a committed lesbian or gay relationship in California, you can protect yourself and your partner by registering as Domestic Partners. Also, if you are in a committed opposite-sex relationship where one partner is 62 years or older, you have the opportunity to register as Domestic Partners.
It is important to register if you want your relationship to have legal standing. While registration isn't the same as marriage, it does secure many important rights and responsibilities. Under current law, registration can protect your rights in times of family crisis, protect your children, and give you access to family benefits at work.
Once
you have decided this is the right move for your relationship, you can
download the Registration Form by clicking the link below. Simply fill
out the form, have it notarized, and mail it to the Secretary of
State's office in Sacramento, or take it in person to any Secretary of
State's office (located in San Diego, Los Angeles, Fresno, San
Francisco, and Sacramento), along with the filing fee. Please note that
if you wish to submit your declaration in person, there is an
additional special handling fee for expedited service. The Secretary of
State's office will provide you with a copy of your declaration and
your certificate.
To terminate a registration, you can download the Termination Form by clicking the link below.
The Secretary of State maintains a website with up to date information regarding Domestic Partnerships. Click here, or on the links that follow.
The laws affecting Domestic Partners change from year to year. Please click here to update your mailing address with the Secretary of State's office so they can update you.
If you registered before March 25, 2003, you might want to know that there now is a Certificate suitable for framing. If you haven't received yours, it means the Secretary of State's office does not have a current address for you. Please click here to update your address. If you would like to order a new Certificate honoring your relationship, please click here.
Also, there are important pieces of pending/new legislation that you should be aware of that
would give Domestic Partners additional legal rights and
responsibilities under state law currently available only to spouses.
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Annotated Divorce Law Dictionary