Domestic partners are "two adults who have chosen to share one another's lives in an intimate and committed relationship of mutual caring." Those domestic partners that have registered their domestic partnership with the California Secretary of State, or its equivalent in another state, have specific legal rights in the family law context. Registered domestic partnerships, like marriages, can end in dissolution, legal separation, or annulment. Domestic partners seeking to terminate their legal domestic partnership often face legal issues similar to those presented in a dissolution of marriage case, but other issues unique to domestic partnerships may also arise.
