A new state law grants registered domestic partners many of the rights and responsibilities of married couples. Assembly Bill 205 was passed by the Legislature in 2003 and becomes effective on January 1, 2005.

The new law requires registered domestic partners to be legally treated as spouses under California law—including, but not limited, to those provisions concerning:

• community property
• child custody and support
• access to family court for the dissolution of a partnership

It also means that the registered domestic partner of a CalSTRS member will be eligible for most of the same CalSTRS benefits that a spouse would be entitled to. The rights given by the new law, however, do not extend to federal benefits since the federal government does not recognize registered domestic partnerships.

Who is Eligible?
To be eligible for CalSTRS benefits under the new law, you must be registered as a domestic partner with the state of California. If you are registered in any other state, except Vermont, which has substantially equivalent civil union laws, you’ll still need to register with the California Secretary of State’s office. We cannot recognize partnerships from other states unless you have documents proving the state where you registered has civil union laws substantially equivalent to California’s registered domestic partner law. However, even if you registered in Vermont or a state that you can prove has equivalent laws, you may still want to register in California to prevent any question of your partnership’s legal status in California.

How to register
You may be eligible to register as a domestic partner with the California Secretary of State’s Office if:

• you and your partner are of the same sex and over 18 years of age
  
  OR
• you and your partner are opposite sexes and one partner is at least 62 years old
  AND
• you meet other legal criteria such as sharing the same residence

To register, go to the Secretary of State’s Web site to download a Declaration of Domestic Partnership form. After completing the form, have it notarized and send it with the required filing fee to:

Other regional offices can be located by clicking here.

New Law Affects Benefits
If you are a CalSTRS member, when the law goes into effect on January 1, 2005, your registered domestic partner may be entitled to survivor benefits in the event of your death. In addition, if you are approved for a disability benefit and the benefit effective date is on or after January 1, 2005, you may be eligible for an additional 10 percent of final compensation for each financially dependent eligible child of a registered domestic partner.

If you are already retired or have elected an option beneficiary prior to retirement, under limited circumstances, when you register or terminate a domestic partnership you may be able to change your designation of your option beneficiary.

For information on your specific situation, you can send us a message by clicking here or you can call us at 800-228-5453.

New Requirements
The new law requires your registered domestic partner to sign any CalSTRS forms that a spouse is required to sign.

If you terminate or dissolve your partnership, your former registered domestic partner may be eligible for a community property interest in your retirement benefit. CalSTRS will be required to distribute your benefits according to community property laws that can include your termination agreement or a dissolution court order.

For More Information
If you’d like more information about Assembly Bill 205, check these sources:

• Click here to read the text of Assembly Bill 205
• Domestic Partner Frequently Asked Questions
• The Secretary of State’s Web site