Marriage Does Not Automatically Invalidate A Domestic Partnership Agreement.

Two men entered into a written domestic partnership agreement and then registered as domestic partners. Later, during the brief period when same-sex marriages were legal in California in 2008, they married. Shortly afterward, one died. The surviving spouse claimed an interest in the estate of the deceased, and the probate court limited him to what he was entitled under the domestic partnership agreement. The surviving spouse argued on appeal there was no prenuptial agreement and the marriage terminated the domestic partnership agreement. The appellate court affirmed, stating:  “We hold that domestic partnership agreements that are enforceable under the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (Family Code sections 1600-1617), and made after statutes were enacted providing domestic partners with essentially the same California State property rights as spouses, are not automatically invalidated by a marriage license. Since [the surviving spouse] expressly waived his rights to any interest in [the deceased’s] estate in the domestic partnership agreement and the validity of this agreement under the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act is not an issue, he cannot claim any interest as a pretermitted spouse in [the deceased’s] estate.” Estate of Philip Timothy Wilson, Konou v. Wilson  (Cal. App. First Dist., Div. 2; December 13, 2012) 211 Cal.App.4th 1284.