Regarding financial responsibility, in a domestic partnership, you are generally not automatically responsible for each other's debts, including credit cards or student loans. However, if you jointly acquire debt during the partnership, it may be considered shared responsibility.
Like credit, debt is also tied to your individual credit history. So, whether you're married or unmarried, you aren't automatically responsible for your partner's debts. Additionally, any bankruptcies that you or your partner experienced in the past will generally not impact the other person's credit reports or scores.
Those liabilities are similar to community property debts acquired by married person under a traditional marriage (i.e. tort liability, assumption of debts, tax liability, issues related to bankruptcy, duty to provide support, etc.). A domestic partnership is similar to, but different than, a legal marriage.
During termination proceedings, the court may divide the couple's assets, award child custody, and order one partner to pay child support or alimony to the other partner. Once the domestic partnership is dissolved, the parties are free to marry or enter into a domestic partnership with another person.
Unmarried couples do not go through divorce like married couples do if they split. As long as unmarried partners can agree on how to divvy up any assets, there's generally no need for lawyers or courts.
A domestic partner is generally defined as an unrelated, unmarried person who shares a residence and a committed, intimate relationship with an employee. This partnership can involve two people of any gender and is not legally recognized as marriage in their state of residence.
Local or Employer-Based Domestic Partnerships
There is generally no joint liability for medical debt in a local or employer-based domestic partnership.
In a general partnership all the partners are personally liable for the partnership debts. In a limited partnership, limited partners are not liable for the partnership's debts beyond the funds they contribute to the partnership.
Just like they would in a marriage, assets, and income acquired while married are considered community property in California. In the event of a separation or dissolution of the domestic partnership, such property would be divided equally between the partners.
If they've taken debt out in their name only, you won't be responsible for paying it back. If you take on joint debt with your spouse, however, then you may be liable if they're not able to keep up with their part of the repayment.
What is cohabitation? Living together with someone is also sometimes called 'cohabitation'. A cohabiting couple is a couple that lives together in an intimate and committed relationship, who are not married to each other and not in a civil partnership. Cohabiting couples can be opposite-sex or same-sex.
Most of the time, you are not responsible for paying your spouse's credit card debt. This is true even if you are an authorized user on a credit card. The only instances where you may be obligated to pay is if you are a joint account holder or if you live in a community property state.
You are generally not responsible for your spouse's credit card debt unless you are a co-signer for the card or you're a joint cardholder on the account.
In general, creditors can't come after you, but your jointly held assets could be at risk. Once you tie the knot, in certain states, you could be held responsible for any debts your spouse incurs, even if you're not on the loan. Since state laws vary, you may want to check with a local lawyer if you're concerned.
There are ways to protect yourself from the debts of your spouse that are accrued during the marriage. The easiest way is to make sure your spouse signs a prenuptial agreement prior to marriage, but you should not try to do this on your own.
Conversely, in a general partnership (GP), partners share unlimited personal liability for the debts and obligations of the business. This means that if the partnership's assets are insufficient to cover its debts, creditors can pursue the personal assets of any partner to make up the shortfall.
Unlimited personal liability of the partners
You and your partners may set limits on how much each of you can be liable for between yourselves, but legally, each participating partner's liability to creditors is unlimited.
Liability of partners shall be limited except in case of unauthorized acts, fraud and negligence. But a partner shall not be personally liable for the wrongful acts or omission of any other partner.
Similarly, if your partner dies, you may be fully responsible for her/his debts. 4 You cannot contract out of this joint responsibility for debt acquired during the domestic partnership.
Some states, such as Florida, New York, and Texas, do not provide for domestic partnerships at the state level. However, exceptions do exist. The same is true in Florida, where state-wide provisions for registering domestic partnerships do not exist.
Community Property States
This means that if your spouse incurs medical debt, you are typically responsible for it as well. There are nine states in the U.S. that follow community property laws: Arizona. California.
The domestic partnership is a legal relationship between two people of the same or opposite sex who live together and share a domestic life, but are not married or joined by a civil union nor are blood relatives.
Same-sex domestic partners can register their domestic partnership with the State of California. Opposite-sex domestic partners as defined in California Family Code Section 297 (that is, one or both are over age 62 and eligible for Social Security benefits based on age) may also register.
Once registered as domestic partners, couples receive the same rights, protections, and benefits as married couples in the state of California.