BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2216
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2216 (Keeley)
As Amended April 25, 2002
Majority vote
JUDICIARY 8-3 APPROPRIATIONS 14-7
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|Ayes:|Corbett, Dutra, Jackson, |Ayes:|Steinberg, Alquist, |
| |Longville, Shelley, | |Aroner, Cohn, Corbett, |
| |Steinberg, Vargas, Wayne | |Correa, Diaz, Firebaugh, |
| | | |Goldberg, Negrete McLeod, |
| | | |Papan, Pavley, Wiggins, |
| | | |Wright |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Bates, Robert Pacheco, |Nays:|Bates, Daucher, |
| |Rod Pacheco | |Maldonado, |
| | | |Robert Pacheco, Runner, |
| | | |Washington, Zettel |
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SUMMARY : Establishes intestate succession rights of domestic
partners. Expands the legal rights of a registered domestic
partner to include the right to inherit property if one partner
dies without a will and contains a notification requirement by
the Secretary of State (SOS) to inform registered domestic
partners and domestic partner applicants of this change.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
analysis, minor General Fund costs of about $10,000 for SOS
notifications.
COMMENTS : In support of this bill, the author states:
The majority of Californians, regardless of their
familial status, have not left testamentary
instructions, e.g., a will, trust or other estate
plan. Without the right to inherit property from a
partner who dies intestate, surviving domestic
partners may experience undue economic hardship,
including, but not limited to, eviction from homes
they shared with the deceased. Moreover, surviving
partners may face legal challenges to retain any of
the deceased partner's property, even if the couple
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jointly purchased it. Loss of funds built up by joint
efforts over years but titled in the name of one
partner can leave the survivor destitute and dependent
on charity and over-burdened public programs to
survive.
Such situations are particularly unjust when the
surviving partner contributed important value to the
household by sacrificing career interests to put the
other through school, raise children, or otherwise to
support the family unit. Allowing a surviving
registered partner to inherit a portion of the
decedent's estate encourages responsibility and mutual
support between two committed adults, prevents undue
hardship to an economically dependent partner, and
discourages disputes between family members over the
disposition of assets.
The events of September 11, in particular, have
highlighted the need for domestic partners to be
recognized in intestate succession laws. Whether from
terrorist attack or other unfortunate circumstance,
death occurs without warning and without bias. Since
domestic partners are not recognized in California's
intestate succession laws, the surviving domestic
partners of California's 9/11 victims have a far more
difficult task to establish their role as next-of-kin
to receive any relief from the Federal Victims
Compensation Fund. AB 2216 would ensure that
surviving domestic partners have legal recognition in
the distribution of a deceased partner's estate.
This bill expands the legal rights of a registered domestic
partner to include the right to inherit property if one partner
dies without a will. A similar provision was included in
earlier versions of AB 25 (Migden), Chapter 893, Statutes of
2001, but the provision was deleted as a result of negotiations
between interested parties.
AB 26 (Migden), Chapter 588, Statutes of 1999, was California's
first domestic partnership statute. Thus, domestic partnerships
have only been recognized by this state since the year 2000,
when AB 26 took effect. AB 26, which forms the backbone of
California's domestic partnership law, was substantially
broadened recently when Governor Davis signed AB 25 (Migden),
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Chapter 893, Statutes of 2001.
California's domestic partnership statute defines domestic
partners as "two adults who have chosen to share one another's
lives in an intimate and committed relationship of mutual
caring" and who file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with
the Secretary of State. As mentioned above, the only persons
who may register as domestic partners are same-sex couples over
the age of 18, or opposite sex couples where one of the partners
is over the age of 62, who are not blood relatives, not married
to others, not members of another domestic partnership, who
share a common residence, and agree to be jointly responsible
for each other's basic living expenses incurred during the
partnership.
As the first step in 1999, AB 26 narrowly defined the legal
effect of creating a domestic partnership and expressly
contained a continuing legal constraint that registration in
California of a domestic partnership does not establish any
rights except those specifically provided in legislation, and at
any time that the partnership is terminated the partners shall
incur none of the obligations to each other established by law.
Thus, unlike with marriage where rights such as spousal support
may continue upon its termination, under California's domestic
partnership law no such legal rights and duties continue upon a
termination of the domestic partnership relationship.
Under the scheme created by AB 26, registered domestic partners
were granted limited rights in the areas of hospital visitation
and health benefits if one of the partners is a state employee.
This past October, the Governor signed AB 25, which conferred
over a dozen new legal rights, privileges and standing on all
registered domestic partners, including, among other things, the
right to recover damages for negligent infliction of emotional
distress; the right to assert a cause of action for wrongful
death; the right of a domestic partner to adopt a child of his
or her partner as a stepparent; the right to make health care
decisions for an incapacitated partner; and the right to be
appointed as administrator of a decedent's estate, in the same
manner and priority as a spouse.
Analysis Prepared by : Saskia Kim / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
AB 2216
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FN: 0004686