Are civil unions recognized in public benefits?
In Washington State, civil unions are not recognized in public benefits. This means that same-sex couples who enter into a civil union in Washington are not entitled to the same benefits as married couples in the state. This includes benefits associated with Social Security, veterans’ programs, health care programs, and other public benefit programs. Furthermore, civil unions are not considered to be valid marriages in the state, so they do not enjoy the same legal protections as a federally recognized marriage. For example, civil unions are not recognized for federal tax purposes, which means that same-sex couples cannot file a joint tax return or claim the same deductions as married couples. Additionally, a civil union does not qualify a same-sex couple to sponsor a foreign-born partner for U.S. citizenship, as a marriage does. This means that if one partner in a civil union is a foreign-born resident, he or she is not able to gain permanent residence or citizenship in the U.S. through the civil union. Lastly, if a same-sex couple in a civil union in Washington State were to move to another state, their union would not be recognized there either, since civil unions are only recognized within the state of Washington. This means that same-sex couples cannot rely on their civil union to provide them with consistent rights and benefits, regardless of where they live.
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