Question: I am writing in hopes that you can lead me to the proper person to help me. My live-in partner and I went to Vermont in early 2001 and entered into a civil union. Neither of us ever lived in Vermont. We have now broken up, but own a home and other assets together. Both of us worked for large companies until my partner was laid off late last year. He now wants health benefits from my employer. We both checked with lawyers where we live, but none of them has any idea what we are talking about. Do I need a divorce and, if so, how do I get one? If not, how do I end this legal relationship? Please do not use my name or where I live.

Answer: Vermont’s Civil Union Law became effective on July 1, 2000. Because there is no residence requirement to obtain a license, nearly 6,000 ceremonies were performed for non-residents of Vermont -- like you and your estranged civil partner.

While there is no residency requirement to enter a Vermont civil union, there is a one-year residency requirement to dissolve one. This means, of course, that when disputes between non-resident civil partners like you and your partner later erupt in the other 49 states that don’t recognize civil unions, lawyers and litigants will be “plowing new fields” to determine how, if at all, their state courts will deal with these perplexing questions.

Although a Massachusetts court has allowed the dissolution of a Vermont civil union on most unusual facts, this is by no means binding on other states where “full faith and credit” arguments have been rejected. While asset division may be had in civil litigation based on various theories of contribution and trusts, termination of the “relationship” is unlikely in most states due to public policy issues, not to mention “Defense of Marriage” legislation.

The Defense of Marriage Act is a 1996 federal law that clearly limited “marriage” to a legal union between a male and a female and defined “spouse” as a person of the opposite sex who is either a husband or wife. Since neither the Internal Revenue Code nor ERISA recognizes either “marriage” or “spouse” in same-sex relationships, important spousal rights such as joint tax returns, innocent spouse benefits, surviving spouse benefits, etc. don’t apply to individuals in same-sex relationships.

Although the United States Census shows that the number of unmarried couples increased from 3.2 million to 5.5 million between 1990 and 2000, the number of same-sex couples is not clearly ascertainable; however, according to the Census, most unmarried couples live in California, followed by Alaska, Maine, Vermont, and Nevada.

Today, California and Oregon recognize “domestic partnerships”, while Hawaii allows “reciprocal beneficiary relationships”. But none of these “relationships” rises to the legal status and rights of marriage between a man and a woman. And with New York and California having recently performed ceremonies between thousands of same-sex partners, the problem faced by you and your partner will be multiplied, and will likely affect employee benefits, retirement planning, and estate planning, not to mention legislative and court initiatives necessary to deal with these issues that raise very serious constitutional and civil rights questions. Given the political, religious, and property overtones, the result is, at best, unclear.

Therefore, you and your partner will become guinea pigs in the legal system of your state, free to pursue remedies to the extent that your pocketbooks will allow.

For our internet readers go to our useful links page to find Vermont law on civil unions