GAY & LESBIAN LEGAL NEEDS
Same-sex couples can legally form "civil unions" as of February 19, 2007. All couples in New Jersey must follow the procedures for getting a New Jersey marriage license, and anyone who can officiate an opposite-sex marriage can officiate a same-sex marriage.
CLICK HERE -> : Requirements for entering into a Civil Union
Domestic Partnership Law News:
- New Jersey Tax Court Interprets Broader Rights for Domestic Partners
- Same Sex Couples Can Sue for Loss of Consortium
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Now more than ever, it's important that you take the proper legal steps to define and protect your relationship in the eyes of the law. If you don't, you run the risk of being shut out of each other's lives -- and the lives of children you co-parent -- in times of medical, financial or personal crisis.
By understanding the law, you and your partner can make informed decisions about how to structure your life, finances, property ownership, and family relationships to best meet your needs. Failing to learn about the law and take measures to protect yourself and your partner can have negative consequences. Often, this is because the special rules governing married couples (such as those relating to property ownership, divorce, and inheritance rights, to name a few) don't apply to unmarried couples. In order to compensate for this, you'll have to do some extra work. For example, you may want to write a will to ensure that your partner gets your property when you die, sign paternity statements to ensure that a father's parental rights are preserved, or create a "living together contract" to avoid protracted court battles over property if you split up.
New Jersey Domestic Partnership Laws both help and hinder the process.
The Law Office of Wayne F. Jentis, Esq., Counsellors At Law, LLC can explain to you in simple terms the areas of the law that you should be concerned with in your particular situation. The New Jersey Domestic Parneship Laws offer some welcome protections but fail to offer others that true domestic partners are unaware of.
A consultation with an attorney experienced in this area of the law in order to be sure you are able to do what you think you can and protect what you really want to is certainly a worthwhile investment for peace of mind and future harmony.
The primary areas of the law we can help you with are:
One of the most valuable services we offer and recommend is:
You adore your partner, but you also have a soft spot inyour heart for that Queen Anne table your grandmother left you. So what are marrying-minded or domestic partnered gay couples to do? The same as heterosexual couples. You need to have a prenuptial agreement drafted for your situation.
"Prenup" is an informal term for "prenuptial agreement," a written contract created by two people before they are married. A prenup typically lists all of the property each person owns (as well as any debts) and specifies what each person's property rights will be after they are married.
The Law Office of Wayne F. Jentis, Esq., Counsellors At Law, LLC is experienced at drafting such agreements in a harmonious way that will leave both partners comfortable, not slighted, yet protected.
Whether your relationship is formal or informal, it is certainly prudent to have an agreement that spells out what will happen IF you and your partner ever part ways. It is a positive and relatively inexpensive venture to create the answers to the "what if" scenario ahead. Once emotions that include pain and possible resentment get into the mix, as is often the case in a breakup, it becomes much more difficult to think openly enough to arrive at a fair resolution of differences and is much more expensive if the services of an attorney are needed without the assistance of a prior agreement.
Thinking and planning ahead, we can help you by discussing:
Most prenups begin with a brief description of each party's circumstances -- such as age, occupation, any children, and maybe even intentions for future employment or education. And prenups almost always include disclosures of both parties' finances -- that is, assets, liabilities, and incomes. (These disclosures are usually attached to the end of the prenup as separate lists.)
Beyond that, what appears in the contract depends on your preferences. Here are some provisions that couples commonly include:
NEWS:
News 3-16-2005
THE NEW JERSEY DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP LAW, ENACTED IN 2004, TODAY WAS INTERPRETED BY THE NEW JERSEY TAX COURT AS GRANTING BROADER RIGHTS FOR DOMESTIC PARTNERS THAN THE RIGHTS LISTED IN TEXT OF THE STATUTE.
Here are the facts of today's decision by the Tax Court of
New Jersey in Hennefeld and Dell v. Township of Montclair,
which is unrelated to the marriage equality case now
making its way through state courts:.
Two men, a couple for 30 years. One is a disabled veteran
who with his partner would be get a 100 percent property
tax exemption on their jointly owned home if they were a
married straight couple. But because they're gay, the
disabled veteran could only get a 50 percent property tax
exemption. They sued and today the tax court ruled for
them.
The crucial part of today's decision is its breadth that
goes beyond the facts of this case. Here is the exact
portion of today's ruling in this regard, found on page 33
of the decision:
The DPA extends a general list of "certain rights and
benefits" to domestic partners at N.J.S.A. 26:8A-2(c).
Domestic partners are also granted a specific list of
"certain rights and benefits…accorded to married couples"
at N.J.S.A. 26:8A-2(d). In each of these sections of the
DPA, the Legislature utilized the word "including"
immediately preceding the list of "certain rights and
benefits." See N.J.S.A. 26:8A-2(c) and -2(d). The use and
meaning of the word "including" in legislation was
addressed in Boardwalk Regency Corp. v. New Jersey Casino
Commission, 352 N.J. Super. 285 (App. Div. 2002). In that
case, the court "view[ed] the word `including' as merely
illustrative, not limiting." See Jackson v. Concord Co.,
54 N.J. 113, 126-27 (1969) (holding that the word
"include" is a word of enlargement, not limitation, and
that the examples specified were merely illustrative); see
also Central R. Co. of New Jersey v. Dir. Div. of Tax
Appeals of Dept. of Treasury, 8 N.J. 15 (1951); Levitt &
Sons, Inc. v. Div. Against Discrimination, 31 N.J. 514
(1960); Fraser v. Robin Dee Day Camp, 44 N.J. 480 (1965).
May 14, 2005
Star Ledger
Same-sex couple can sue for loss of cosortium
- Judge's decision in Essex case could expand gay rights into other areas.
Same sex couple in New Jersey will now be able to sue for a loss of consortium under a precedent-setting decision handed down by a judge in Newark.
In his ruling, Superior Court Judge James S. Rothschild Jr. said domestic partners Judith Perterson and Linda Henry of Fair Lawn can pursue their consortium claim as part of a whistelblower suit they and foour others haver brought against the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, Clara Maass Medical Center and five other individuals. A trial is cheduled for September 2005.
A paramedic who once worked at Clara Maass in Belleville, Henry claimed in her legal papers that she was forved to endure a hostile work environment, an unfair work schedule and retaliation for reporting misconduct by co-workers as a result of her gender and sexual oreintation. Those actions by her employer caused Henry to suffer a heart attack and other health problems, leading to her neglect of Peterson, her life partner of nine years, and inability to contribute to their household and a loss of emotional support, documents added. The pair filed an affidavit of domestic parnership with the state in August 2004. Previously, the law only permitted married couples to sue for a loss of consortium. Clark E. Alpert, Esq. whose law firm in West Orange represents the six plaintiffs said,
Stephen J. Hyland, Esq., at the time writing a book on domestic partnership said, "I read it as standing in New Jersey for an extensive growth of the rights of domestic parners to many more that are available to married couples.
New Jersey's domestic partnership statute grants a variety of rights to domestic partners that previously were reserved for married couples.
New Jersey's legislature this year enacted a domestic partnership statute granting a variety of rights to domestic partners that previously were reserved for married couples, including exemption from inheritance taxes on the same grounds as a spouse, state income tax exemptions for joint tax returns, and the right to make medical or legal decisions for an incapacitated spouse or partner. The statute also recognizes the validity of domestic partnerships, civil unions and similar relationships formed under the laws of other jurisdictions.
Update:
- Domestic Partners have the same rights as a spouse for funerals and
disposition of remains. The Assenly voted 67-6 on the Senate-approved
bill. 01-09-06
Requirements for entering into a Civil Union:
For two people to establish a civil union in New Jersey, they must satisfy all of the following requirements:
Not be a party to another civil union, domestic partnership or marriage in this state or that is recognized by this state*;
Be of the same sex ; and
Be at least 18 years of age, except that applicants under 18 may enter into a civil union with parental consent. Applicants under age 16 must obtain parental consent and have the consent approved in writing by any judge of the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Family Part.
* Same sex couples who meet the above requirements and are registered as domestic partners may enter into a civil union with the same person without terminating their domestic partnership first. If the domestic partnership was registered in New Jersey, it automatically terminates when the civil union is registered. If the domestic partnership was registered in another state, that state’s laws determine the impact on the domestic partnership. A couple that has previously entered into a civil union or a same-sex marriage shall apply for a Reaffirmation of Civil Union License.