What are the legal implications of a civil union?

A civil union, or a domestic partnership, is a legal relationship between two people that grants certain rights and responsibilities between them. In Texas, civil unions are not recognized as being the same as marriage, and therefore they do not provide the same legal protections as a marriage does. The legal implications of a civil union in Texas are that the two partners do not have the same rights as married couples. This includes the right to share health insurance, pension benefits, or become a couple on any official documents. The partners in a civil union also do not have the right to file joint taxes, and cannot be legally classified as next of kin. In addition, if one partner passes away, the other partner does not have an automatic right to inheritance as a spouse would. In order to secure inheritance rights, the couple needs to create a will in order for the other partner to be legally recognized as inheriting assets. The biggest legal implication of a civil union is that, if the couple ever decides to end the relationship, there is no legal process that needs to be followed. This means that both parties are responsible for their own property, and there is no obligation for either partner to support the other financially.

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What are the legal implications of a civil union?

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