In the small theater of the Sparks Library, more than 40 people attentively listened Saturday to the new rights and legal stipulations that will take effect Oct. 1 for couples filing to become legally recognized domestic partners.

To help people who are interested in pre-registering under the new law, which grants domestic partnerships to both same-sex and opposite-sex partners, the Sparks Library, along with Northern Nevada’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender business and professional network, Three Degrees, held a seminar to explain the rights that Senate Bill 283 grants partners as well as other legal advice for couples.

Couples can pre-register until Sept. 24 for the certificate that they will receive to be officially dated Oct. 1. After the Sept. 24 date, the certificate will be dated the day the paperwork is processed after the Oct. 1 effective date of the new law.

Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller attended the lecture and said that the bill is a step in the right direction for equal rights of same-sex couples and that his office has received more applications than they thought they would so far.

“We have had 350 people or so pre-register to date,” Miller said. “It goes to show we’ve had a large demand.”

Miller explained that couples wishing to file for domestic partnership need to fill out the one-page form and the form needs to be properly notarized by a certified notary. It costs $50 to file the form with the state.

“If you pre-register, you can show up on Oct. 1 and pick up your certificate or we can mail it to you,” Miller said of the benefits of being early to file.

Although Miller’s speech excited the audience, Miller could not make everything associated with the new law sound as pleasant. He proceeded to explain that partners who wanted to change their name would have to file a different form under Nevada Revised Statute Chapter 41. He also explained the legality of ending a domestic partnership, much like a marriage, if a couple chose to file.

Miller said that a domestic partnership can be easily dissolved if the partnership is less than five years old and there are no children or common property involved. If the partnership has lasted more than five years and/or child custody needs to be determined and common property needs to be divided, then the partnership must be dissolved in the same manner as a divorce.

Much like a marriage license, Miller also reminded people that by filing for domestic partnership, it is a public record but that the state has not had any privacy issues with such records.

In addition to Miller, financial planning specialist Karen Vibe from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Lee Rowland from the American Civil Liberties Union and family law attorney Kim Surratt spoke at the meeting.

SB 283

Rowland found it important to share the long struggle to pass SB 283 with the people who are eager to make their relationship legally recognized partnerships.

“I was in the thick of lobbying for the bill,” Rowland said. “At the beginning of the legislative session, the ACLU was to get sexual orientation covered in the public accommodations law. This was our big priority going into the session.”

Rowland explained that public accommodations law, NRS 651, states that people can be removed from public places, such as buildings, parking lots and even open recreational areas, for what can be deemed as offensive or intrusive acts.

NRS 651.020 states:

"Eviction of disorderly persons; Every owner or keeper of any hotel, inn, motel, motor court, or boardinghouse or lodging house in this State shall have the right to evict from such premises anyone who acts in a disorderly manner, or who destroys the property of any such owner or keeper, or who causes a public disturbance in or upon such premises."

Rowland said that because of this, a gay couple could be removed from a casino for choosing to kiss in public and if someone reports the act as being offensive. She said that the tourist industry, which does not include information like that to its heavy marketed homosexual demographic, strongly supported SB 283.

Under SB 283 a person could co-habitate and function in public with their partner, who would have the same rights as a spouse.

Rowland also said that Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, the only openly gay member of Nevada’s Congress, worked hard to pass SB 283.

“David has already come forward and said that he was working on public accommodation issues,” Rowland said. “He said, ‘I have an obligation to put in a bill that addresses domestic partnership.’ He never thought it was going to pass the first time around.”

However, passing SB 283 was not easy. Rowland said the people who supported and worked to pass the bill into law had to overcome the hurdle of Nevada’s Defense of Marriage Act. The act, which was passed in 2002, officially revised Nevada’s constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.

Rowland said that after overcoming the odds, SB 283 was passed but was one vote short of a veto override.

“We were one vote short of a veto override, which, of course, Gov. (Jim) Gibbons did,” Rowland said with a heavy sigh. “We had this whole second round of lobbying. Sen. Dennis Nolan flipped his vote the second time around. If there is anyone who you might want to send a thank-you card to, it is Dennis.”

Nolan is a Republican senator from Las Vegas who changed his vote after some pressure from his constituents and the casino industry.

What the law means

SB 283 states:

“This bill establishes a domestic partnership as a new type of civil contract recognized in the State of Nevada. Under the provisions of this bill, with certain exceptions, domestic partners have the same rights, protections, benefits, responsibilities, obligations and duties as do parties to any other civil contract created pursuant to title 11 of NRS. This bill also clarifies that a domestic partnership is not a marriage for the purposes of Section 21 of Article 1 of the Nevada Constitution.

"Section 8 of this bill sets forth that no public or private employer in this State is required to provide health care benefits to or for the domestic partner of an officer or employee. Section 8 also clarifies that any public or private employer in this State may voluntarily provide health care benefits to or for the domestic partner of an officer or employee upon such terms and conditions as the affected parties may deem appropriate.”

Although Rowland explained that SB 283 does not mean a couple is entering a marriage, it does mean that couples who file for domestic partnership will receive many of the same rights as a legally married couple, including the right to make medical decisions for their partner. However, SB 283 does not make employers pay for a partner's medical and insurance benefits unless the employer voluntarily does so, much like the city of Reno approved last week according to Rowland.

Partner rights are recognized to different degrees in different states depending on how that states recognizes a couples marriage, domestic partnership or civil union.

“There are currently 12 states that have sort of ‘coupledom’ for couples that are gay,” Rowland said.

Six states currently allow same-sex couples to marry, including Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and on Friday, Maine became the latest state to enact gay marriage.

“Who would have ever thought Iowa would be cooler than California,” Rowland said to a room of people who laughed with her.

After Rowland explained the history of the bill, she read Section 13 of SB 283:

“The provisions of this chapter must be construed liberally to the effect of resolving any doubt or question in favor of finding that a domestic partnership is a valid civil contract entitled to be treated in all respects under the laws of this State as any other civil contract created pursuant to title 11 of NRS would be treated.”

“The last section of the law is really kind of beautiful,” Rowland said.

Legalizing a domestic partnership

Rowland and family law attorney Surratt took the time to explain the rights and the legality of SB 283 to the people who wanted to file for rights under it.

“This is a binding contract,” Rowland said. “But no one can guess how it will be recognized in other states.”

Surratt answered a question from one man who married his partner in California when same-sex marriage was legalized from the November 2008 reversal upheld by Proposition 8. The man asked Surratt if he should file for domestic partnership with his partner in Nevada even though they were married in California.

Surratt said that under the Nevada law, anyone who did not have a “marriage reconigized by the state of Nevada” – meaning same-sex marriages under the Defense of Marriage Act – that he would need to file for a domestic partnership to obtain the rights granted by the law.

Surratt and Rowland said that anyone who travels or moves out of Nevada could not use the domestic partnership obtained in Nevada to secure rights in another state, which means couples should take other legal precautions to secure rights such as enacting a power of attorney to make medical decisions for their partner.

As questions arose about property and the possibility of divorce under a domestic partnership, Rowland took a second to remind people that seeking a domestic partnership is a big decision.

“It is clearly intended for people who are in a romantic relationship; it is clearly there to protect people in a loving relationship,” Rowland said. “It is a serious document. Ending it is the same as getting a divorce. I wouldn’t tell people to do this unless you’re ready to; it’s a big decision.”

Surratt, who is a family attorney, said that SB 283 helps her secure adoptions for same-sex couples.

“It does open the door and it does let me obtain adoption orders that are difficult to get otherwise,” Surratt said.

However, Surratt warned that with couples that are in legally recognized domestic partnerships cannot easily dissolve the partnership if children and property are involved.

“Nevada is a community property and a no-fault divorce state,” Surratt said. “But I can tell you that there are no divorces that are clear-cut even with community property laws.”

Surratt explained that community property is anything that is brought into the relationship after the established domestic partnership date, or in the case of a marriage the date of the marriage. She also said that a no-fault divorce state means that Nevada allows couples to file for divorce under irreconcilable differences and does not need any other reason to file.

“What if you already own a home together as joint tenants? Is there something you should do?” one man asked, adding that he wasn’t concerned about ending a domestic partnership as he wanted to make sure that if something happened to him the property would go to his partner.

“When it is jointly titled, that is pretty safe,” Surratt said. “If one person dies and it is jointly titled, then it rolls over to the surviving person.”

Surratt added that property, as well as debt, are considered community property in Nevada. The only exceptions are inheritance and personal injury lawsuit rewards if clearly defined. Also, money earned and property owned before the date of domestic partnership is considered a separate asset but after the date of domestic partnership is considered community property.

Planning for partnership

Questions about property and financial situations brought financial planning specialist Vibe in to help answer the queries.

One couple asked about retirement benefits, such as IRAs and 401ks. Vibe said that retirement funds should always roll over to the beneficiary on the account.

“If no beneficiary is stated, it looks like it will go to your domestic partner,” Vibe said, adding people should protect themselves and their partners by making sure to clearly state a beneficiary on all financial accounts.

“You now have to be aware of your wealth responsibility and debt responsibility,” Vibe said. “Get yourself a will and a trust because those will supercede Nevada law and make sure your wishes are carried out.

“I would also suggest getting just a term life insurance policy that will just cover your debts,” Vibe added. “It passes on to the survivor tax free to cover any remaining debts and it’s very, very inexpensive.”

A woman in the audience chimed in: “Let’s say no one gets divorced and no one dies; what are the benefits?”

“The default ability to make a medical decision,” Surratt answered. “People have the best intention of making sure their estate planning is done perfectly but it never happens.

“Marriage is an umbrella and now domestic partnerships helps open that umbrella,” Surratt added.

“Take care of each other, do all the things that in the event that this law doesn’t protect you; you’ve protected yourselves,” Vibe said.

“That date of registration is going to change a lot of rights,” Surratt said. “We want you to slow down and realize it is not just a political statement.”

Three Degrees will be holding one more domestic partnership seminar at the Grand Sierra Resort on Sept. 24 from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

On Oct. 2, the day after SB 283 goes into effect, there will be celebration at Harrah’s in downtown Reno starting at 7 p.m. organized by the ACLU, Three Degrees, Equality Nevada, Human Rights Campaign, Nevada Women’s Lobby, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada and the Reno Gayla Film Festival. The seminar and celebration are free events.

Surratt and Rowland also suggest couples who might have questions about domestic partnerships read "Making it Legal: A Guide to Same-Sex Marriage, Domestic Partnerships and Civil Unions" by Nolo Law. For more information, visit www.makingitlegal.net or www.nolo.com.

For a complete copy of SB 283, visit http://www.leg.state.nv.us/75th2009/Bills/SB/SB283_EN.pdf