Civil UnionChildren

CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE ENTERING INTO A

NEW HAMPSHIRE CIVIL UNION

A civil union might complicate matters for couples in the process of adoption a child or considering adoption in the future. Some foreign countries welcome single-parent adoptions, but do not allow same-sex couples to adopt. This may also be the case for some states in the United States.

The military provides that an “attempted marriage” to a person of the same sex is grounds for discharge under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. The military may view a New Hampshire Civil Union as the equivalent of a marriage for their purposes.

Being in a civil union could disqualify one partner from state government programs, because of the income and assets of the other partner.

Under New Hampshire law, under certain circumstances, married persons are responsible for the support of their spouses, including medical bills. New Hampshire Civil Union couples will undertake the same responsibilities.

It may be difficult, or in some states impossible, to terminate the civil union. Under New Hampshire law, certain residency requirements must be satisfied for the civil union to be dissolved.

New Hampshire Civil Union partners will divorce under the same legal system as New Hampshire married persons, and New Hampshire Courts will determine property division, alimony, child custody and support, if the parties cannot agree, or did not enter into a valid prenuptial agreement addressing these issues. Note that under New Hampshire law, the court can consider any property owned by either or both of the parties as marital property subject to distribution.

Under New Hampshire law, a spouse cannot completely disinherit a spouse by leaving the spouse out of a will, absent a valid prenuptial agreement demonstrating such mutual intent. New Hampshire Civil Union couples would be subject to the same legal rules.

ROBERT HOWARD LAW OFFICE

168 Maple Street

Post Office Box 900

Henniker, New Hampshire 03242

Telephone (603) 428-3232 Fax (603) 428-3034