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A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a mean to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage (with child adoption being a common exception).
1 Civil unions legal in six Arizona cities. Some public- and private-sector U.S. employers provide health insurance or other spousal benefits to same-sex partners of employees, although the employee receiving benefits for his or her partner may have to pay income tax on the value of the benefit.
The term is not used consistently, which results in some inter-jurisdictional confusion. Some jurisdictions, such as Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. states of California, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington use the term "domestic partnership" to mean what other jurisdictions call civil union, civil partnership, or registered partnership ...
Various names are used for similar relationships in other countries, but civil union was first applied in Vermont. In 2013, with the Supreme Court's invalidation of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, same-sex marriage began to provide federal benefits. Civil unions continue not to provide federal benefits.
For opposite-sex couples, a civil union or domestic partnership contracted in another state or foreign jurisdiction will, in all likelihood, be honored as a domestic partnership in California if at least one partner is 62 years of age or older.
Under state law, domestic partners shall be treated the same as married spouses. Some of the more notable changes include: Use of sick leave to care for a domestic partner; Rights to injured partners' wages and benefits and unpaid wages upon death of a partner; Access to unemployment, disability insurance, and workers' compensation coverage
In 2003, the legislature enacted a statute that made void in Texas any same-sex marriage or civil union. [30] This statute also prohibits the state or any agency or political subdivision of the state from giving effect to same-sex marriages or civil unions performed in other jurisdictions. [31]
The Civil Union Act makes no explicit provisions for the recognition of foreign unions. Based on the principle of lex loci celebrationis, a foreign marriage (including a same-sex marriage) is recognised as a marriage in South African law. However, the status of foreign forms of partnership other than marriage, such as civil unions or domestic ...