Steps Domestic Partners Can Take For Themselves

Regardless of whether two people that regard themselves as domestic partners live in a jurisdiction that officially recognizes domestic partnerships, there are certain things the couple can do that will give them more rights and protections:

• Sign powers of attorney for health care naming one partner as the person to make health-care decisions if the other partner is incapacitated;


• Sign powers of attorney for financial matters that would allow a partner to make financial decisions and manage property on behalf of an incapacitated partner;


• Hold property (such as a home, car or financial accounts) in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship so that upon death of one partner, the property would pass to the surviving partner;


• Write wills leaving property, including items of personal significance, to each other;


• Take out life insurance policies, naming each other as beneficiaries; and


• Write and sign an agreement about how expenses and property will be shared during the relationship.