thetrendingreSurgenceofdomeSticPartnerShiPS
Marital & Family law Section
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For a small fee and a trip to the courthouse , qualified unmarried couples 3 can register with local municipalities as domestic partners , affording them legal visitation rights to health care facilities , access to medical information , and the ability to make decisions about a partner ’ s health care , funeral , and burial . 4 This designation has no bearing on taxes , public benefits , or inheritance rights ; it cannot compare to the robust legal rights and benefits offered by marriage , and there are several limitations to the protections provided by a domestic partnership .
Domestic partnerships are not currently recognized by the federal government or the State of Florida ; they are only recognized at the local municipal level . Florida law does not require local governments to create domestic partnership registries or recognize the designation from another local government . In other words , unmarried couples in Florida are unable to register a domestic partnership in one municipality in Florida and have those same rights afforded to them elsewhere in the State . The enforceability of a partner ’ s legal rights during a health care crisis depends on whether the jurisdiction in which it occurs recognizes domestic partnerships . For example , if domestic partners registered in Hillsborough County have a medical emergency in another
county where there is no domestic partnership registry , the rights conferred on the couple in Hillsborough County would be unenforceable in the other county .
Whether triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic , or a more general trend among unmarried persons , the legal designation of a domestic partnership is regaining interest for those who want to secure limited , but important medical and healthcare rights for themselves and their partners . n
1
Data for number of annual domestic partnership registrations provided by the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court .
2
See , e . g ., Chapter 12 , Article V , Sec . 12-120-12-127 of the City of Tampa Code ( 2020 ), for City of Tampa ’ s domestic partnership registry .
3
See , e . g ., Chapter 12 , Article V , Sec . 12-121 ( b ) of the City of Tampa Code ( 2020 ), for the eligibility requirements for the domestic partnership registry in the City of Tampa .
4
Some registries also give domestic partners correctional facility visitation rights and the same rights as legal parents to participate in the education of a child of the registered partnership .
Author : Lexie Revord Larkin - Larkin Law LLC , P . A .
join tHe MARitAl And fAMilY lAw seCtion At HillsBAR . CoM .
J A N - F E B 2 0 2 1 | H C B A L A W Y E R
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