DOMESTIC PARTNERS AWAITING THEIR DAY
New registration law takes effect Saturday

Tuesday, July 06, 2004
BY KATHY BARRETT CARTER
Star-Ledger Staff

THE STAR LEDGER - For Marty Finkel and Mike Plake, South Orange village is the place to be this weekend.

A new domestic partnership law making New Jersey the fifth state in the nation to give gay couples many rights accorded married people takes effect Saturday. In South Orange, officials will begin registering couples as soon as they can -- a minute after midnight.

Finkel, 45, and Plake, 41, who lobbied for the law, expect to be the first couple officially recognized as domestic partners in New Jersey.

"Everyone in the state is welcome," Finkel said. "It is very exciting."

The new law, hailed by gay rights activists and criticized by some religious groups, will arrive with celebrations.

Gov. James E. McGreevey, who signed the bill in January, will mark the enactment with a reception Friday at the governor's mansion in Princeton. In South Orange, local officials will read a proclamation and conduct the wee-hours registrations. Maplewood, which, like South Orange, has a sizable gay population, will begin registering couples late Saturday morning and will hold an outdoor celebration expected to draw 1,000 people.

"This day will not only be remembered as a victory for civil rights, but also as the day New Jersey took a stand for fairness and for dignity," McGreevey said.

But some religious groups say it is a mistake for the state to give homosexuals the same rights as heterosexual married couples.

"The wholesale acceptance of domestic partnerships discounts the fact that throughout history, marriage -- the union of one man and one woman -- has offered societal stability by forming the physical, economic and cultural base for orderly procreation, nurture and education of the next generation," said William Bolan, executive director of the New Jersey Catholic Conference.

New Jersey will join four other states that give broad rights to gay couples. Massachusetts allows gay couples to marry. Hawaii, Vermont and California recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships. There are 16,000 same-sex couples living in New Jersey, according to the 2000 Census.

For a $28 fee -- the current cost of a marriage license -- same-sex couples will be able to go to any municipal hall in New Jersey and register as domestic partners, provided they can prove they live together and share finances, are at least 18 years old and are not already married or in another domestic partnership.

While the New Jersey law will not sanction gay marriage, it will permit gay couples and unmarried heterosexual couples age 62 or older to sue under the state's anti-discrimination law, visit each other in the hospital, make medical decisions for an incapacitated partner, file state tax returns together and avoid inheritance tax like a spouse.

State workers will be able to include partners on their health benefits plans. Public employees, such as police and firefighters, also will be eligible to collect state pensions if their partner dies on the job.

"Marty and I own a house, and if one of us dies, there will be no estate taxes, which is a huge benefit at what would be a particularly rough time," Plake said. "If one of us got sick, we could visit each other in the hospital. That's one thing. The other thing, which is equally important, it is acknowledging our relationship."

State officials have informed insurers they must offer domestic partner benefits if they write policies that include married couples, and directed hospitals that domestic partners should be permitted to visit in intensive care units.

Supporters of the measure, however, stress that a domestic partnership does not provide the same rights as a marriage. They say couples should seek legal help before registering.

"Any couple in a committed relationship considering becoming domestic partners should consult an attorney because they are commingling their financial resources," lawyer Joan McSherry said. "They're taking on responsibilities and obligations to each other and there is no template for them to look at to know what that entails. The law is very complicated."

Lynn Strober, a divorce lawyer, said that if one partner gives up a career to stay home and raise children or to help the other run a business, the domestic partnership law offers no protections if the relationship ends. The law makes no provision for alimony or equitable distribution of property acquired during the domestic partnership. And support provisions for when unmarried couples break up -- known as palimony -- would not apply to domestic partnerships unless there is a written or oral agreement to support the person for life.

Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), sponsor of the law, said she would have preferred greater protections, but concessions were made to garner broad support for the measure.

Weinberg said the provision for heterosexual couples 62 or older to register as domestic partners will permit older couples to enter into a legally committed relationship without threatening their Social Security and pension benefits or disrupting their estate planning.

But the sponsor expects few older couples to take advantage of the new law in New Jersey. No senior citizen groups pushed for the legislation. AARP did not take a position on the bill.

Supporters don't know how many couples will register. The bill said that in other states, about 1 percent of the state work force sought coverage for a domestic partner. That would cost New Jersey state government about $5 million.

Gay advocates hope same-sex marriage is the next step. A lawsuit aimed at forcing New Jersey to recognize same-sex marriage is pending in a state appeals court after a trial judge ruled against seven gay couples.

After they register early Saturday, Finkel and Plake plan to attend the festivities in Maplewood. But the South Orange couple will not have a big reception for themselves. They say they are saving that for when the state recognizes gay marriage.

"Mike is my life partner. I believe we'll be together forever," Finkel said. "I want to marry him when we get the chance."

 Kathy Barrett Carter covers legal issues. She can be reached at (609) 989-0254 or kcarter@starledger.com. The state Department of Health has published a brochure and established a toll-free hotline (1-866-722-8218) to answer questions about the new law.