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My partner and I are moving from Indiana to Iowa. We had a domestic partnership agreement and wills made out here in Indiana. When we move to Iowa will we have to have these redone in Iowa?

[DesElms]

Probably. All agreements, contracts and other similar legal instruments are drafted pursuant to applicable law. The state in which one resides determines applicable law. Most agreements even have a declaration, near their ends, indicating under which state's laws the agreement will be adjudicated if there is ever a court case involving it. Your agreement was most likely drafted with Indiana's laws in mind. Iowa's laws may be sufficiently different that a new agreement will need to be drafted in order to afford you and your partner equivalent benefits, rights and responsibilities as are afforded by the Indiana agreement.

This is something about which you don't want to guess and speculate, however. Neither Indiana or Iowa are particularly friendly toward same-sex partnerships. How the agreement should be worded in order to have a prayer of enforceability could be tricky. You definitely need to see an attorney in Iowa who has experience in this area. From my cursory Googling on the subject, it seems there are many of them in Iowa who understand well this particular area of law. You should have no trouble finding one. But by all means, find one; and get competent legal advice.

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Thanks DESELMS, we did that when I moved to Indiana we got a gay lawyer because we felt she would really know the ins and outs of the law.

[DesElms]

You and your partner should come out to California and get married. As of the California Supreme Court's ruling on May 15th, it's completely and enforceably legal in California right now... though it's unclear if that will still be the case after the general election in November when there is a constitutional amendment on the ballot which, if passed, would make same-sex marriage unconstitutional in California.

If that happens, because of precisely the way that the Court ruled, it's quite likely that the US Supreme Court will overturn the November ballot. But even if that doesn't happen, one thing that pretty much all attorneys are agreeing on is that marriages solemnified between June 16th and the November general election will remain legal, no matter how the voters vote.

States like Massachusetts, which also allow same-sex marriages, will, of course, always honor a California marriage. So will states like New York which, while they don't allow same-sex marriages, have ruled in court that they will honor any other state's marriage as long as it was lawful at the time.

Of course, the federal government is probably years away from ever honoring same-sex marriages, so the benefits -- as you already know from your partnership situation -- are limited at the federal level (filing federal taxes, for example, or Social Security survivior's benefits, etc.).

Still, I believe that this situation will not always be the case; that same-sex marriages will be recognized by all states, and at the federal level... just probably not in my lifetime (I'm 51, at this writing).

Getting married -- even if it means driving out to California to do it -- makes a statement. You'll still be just domestic partners in Iowa, of course... at least for now; but you'll be unambiguous about what you believe are your rights. And you'll know, Iowa laws be damned, that you're married. To you, you'll be married... and to those who know and love you. And if you ever move to California -- even if the vote in November makes unconstitutional same-sex marriage thereafter -- you'll still always be married... for real.

I'm a sworn Commissioner of Civil Ceremonies in California, and since June 16th, I've officiated at... I think it's 17... same-sex weddings. Every one of them was joyful and emotional. Most of them have waited many, many years; and had had private, not-legally-binding marriage ceremonies, or had registered as domestic partners; but they just couldn't believe that actually being legally -- really and truly legallly -- married was finally happening. The tears, the hugging, the support from family and friends...

... as a witness to it all, it has been life-changing for me. I'm moved, beyond my ability to adequately put into words, by it. And honored to have been able to play my small role.

So you should come out to California and get married. Of the 17 couples over whose ceremonies I officiated, about a third of them were from out of state... taking advantage of this possibly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make it official in a place where it really is legal, even if they return the next day to a place where it isn't. They have faith, as do I, that that will not always be the case; and they want to be able to say that they've been married for a long time before said marriage is finally recognized.

Let me know if you'd like me to officiate!

Good luck to you.

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Thanks. :D