Guidelines For Vermont Civil Unions, Vermont Gay & Lesbian Weddings, Receptions, & Honeymoons

THE VERMONT GUIDE TO CIVIL UNIONS
"Vermont Gay & Lesbian Weddings"
Published by the Office of the Secretary of State
Deborah L. Markowitz, Secretary of State

Vermont's Civil Union law went into effect July 1st, 2000. This law permits eligible couples of the same sex to be joined in civil union. The eligibility criteria are discussed in this pamphlet.

Parties to a civil union shall have all the same benefits, protections and responsibilities under Vermont law, whether they derive from statute, policy, administrative or court rule, common law or any other source of civil law, as are granted to spouses in a marriage.

In order to be joined in civil union the couple must complete the following steps:

1. Apply for a civil union license from the town clerk of the town where either party resides or, if neither is a resident of the state, from any Vermont town clerk. At least one of the parties must sign the license application and pay a $20.00 fee to the town clerk.
   
2. The couple must then deliver the license to an official authorized to certify a civil union: a judge, justice of the peace or member of the clergy. The civil union may be certified anywhere in the state.
   
3. The official must perform the certification within sixty days after the town clerk issues the license. The official must fill out and sign a portion of the civil union license. If the certification is delayed for more than sixty days a new license must be issued.
   
4. Within ten days of the certification, the official who certifies the union must return it to the town clerk who issued it. If the official delays returning the certification beyond the tenth day, the official may be penalized, but the civil union will still be valid. 18 V.S.A. § 5131.

For civil unions, as for marriages, Vermont law requires no medical certificate, blood test or waiting period. 18 V.S.A. § 5145.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who may be joined in civil union?
To be joined in civil union a couple must satisfy all of the following criteria:

1. Not be a party to another civil union or a marriage or a party in a legal reciprocal beneficiary relationship.
2. Be of the same sex and therefore excluded from the marriage laws of this state.
3. Not be close family members: A woman may not enter into a civil union with her mother, grandmother, daughter, granddaughter, sister, brother's daughter, sister's daughter, father's sister or mother's sister. A man may not enter into a civil union with his father, grandfather, son, grandson, brother, brother's son, sister's son, father's brother or mother's brother.
4. Not be under 18 years of age;
5. Not be non compos mentis (of unsound mind);
6. Not be under guardianship, unless the guardian consents in writing. 18 V.S.A. §§ 1203, 5163.
7. PLEASE NOTE:  The law permits non-residents to obtain a Vermont civil union.

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What are the legal consequences of a civil union?
Parties to a civil union are given all the same benefits, protections and responsibilities under Vermont law, whether they derive from statute, administrative or court rule, policy, common law or any other source of civil law, as are granted to spouses in a marriage. These include:

1. Parties to a civil union shall be responsible for the support of one another to the same degree and in the same manner as prescribed under law for married persons.
2. The law of domestic relations, including annulment, separation and divorce, child custody and support, and property division and maintenance shall apply to parties to a civil union.
3. The rights of parties to a civil union, with respect to a child of whom either becomes the natural parent during the term of the civil union, shall be the same as those of a married couple, with respect to a child of whom either spouse becomes the natural parent during the marriage.
4. The following is a nonexclusive list of legal benefits, protections and responsibilities of spouses, which shall apply in like manner to parties to a civil union:

1. laws relating to title, tenure, descent and distribution, intestate succession, waiver of will, survivorship, or other incidents of the acquisition, ownership, or transfer, inter vivos or at death, of real or personal property, including eligibility to hold real and personal property as tenants by the entirety (parties to a civil union meet the common law unity of person qualification for purposes of a tenancy by the entirety);
2. causes of action related to or dependent upon spousal status, including an action for wrongful death, emotional distress, loss of consortium, dramshop, or other torts or actions under contracts reciting, related to, or dependent upon spousal status;
3. probate law and procedure, including nonprobate transfer;
4. adoption law and procedure;
5. group insurance for state employees under 3 V.S.A. § 631, and continuing care contracts under 8 V.S.A. § 8005;
6. spouse abuse programs under 3 V.S.A. § 18;
7. prohibitions against discrimination based upon marital status;
8. victim's compensation rights under 13 V.S.A. § 5351;
9. workers' compensation benefits;
10. laws relating to emergency and non-emergency medical care and treatment, hospital visitation and notification, including the Patient's Bill of Rights under 18 V.S.A. chapter 42 and the Nursing Home Residents' Bill of Rights under 33 V.S.A. chapter 73;
11. terminal care documents under 18 V.S.A. chapter 111, and durable power of attorney for health care execution and revocation under 14 V.S.A. chapter 121;
12. family leave benefits under 21 V.S.A. chapter 5, subchapter 4A;
13. public assistance benefits under state law;
14. laws relating to taxes imposed by the state or a municipality other than estate taxes;
15. laws relating to immunity from compelled testimony and the marital communication privilege;
16. the homestead rights of a surviving spouse under 27 V.S.A. § 105 and homestead property tax allowance under 32 V.S.A. § 6062;
17. laws relating to loans to veterans under 8 V.S.A. § 1849;
18. the definition of family farmer under 10 V.S.A. § 272;
19. laws relating to the making, revoking and objecting to anatomical gifts by others under 18 V.S.A. § 5240;
20. state pay for military service under 20 V.S.A. § 1544;
21. application for absentee ballot under 17 V.S.A. § 2532;
22. family landowner rights to fish and hunt under 10 V.S.A. § 4253;
23. legal requirements for assignment of wages under 8 V.S.A. § 2235; and
24. affirmance of relationship under 15 V.S.A. § 7.

See 18 V.S.A. § 1204

Can parties to a civil union modify the terms of the union?
Yes, parties to a civil union may modify the terms, conditions, or effects of their civil union in the same manner and to the same extent as married persons who execute an antenuptial agreement or other agreement recognized and enforceable under the law, setting forth particular understandings with respect to their union. 18 V.S.A. § 1205. The family court determines the enforceability of such agreements.

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Who can certify a civil union in Vermont?
Civil unions may be certified by:

• Judges: A supreme court justices, a superior court judge, a district judge, a judge of probate, an assistant judge.
  
  
• Justices of the Peace: Performing ceremonies (marriage and civil union) are discretionary functions of this office. A justice may decide whether to perform a particular ceremony on a case by case basis, or may decline to perform all ceremonies or may decide only to perform ceremonies for family and friends. A justice may not discriminate on any basis prohibited by law (age, race, sex, national origin, religion, sexual orientation,) and must apply the same policy to both marriages and civil unions.
  
• Clergy: Clergy members residing in Vermont and ordained or licensed, or otherwise regularly authorized by the published laws or discipline of the general conference, convention or other authority of his or her faith or denomination, or by such a clergy person residing in an adjoining state or country, whose parish, church, temple, mosque or other religious organization lies wholly or in part in this state, or by a member of the clergy residing in some other state of the United States or in the District of Columbia, provided he or she has first secured from the probate court of the district within which the civil union is to be certified, a special authorization, authorizing him or her to certify the civil union if such probate judge determines that the circumstances make the special authorization desirable. Civil unions among the Friends or Quakers, the Christadelphian Ecclesia and the Baha'i Faith may be certified in the manner used in such societies. 18 V.S.A. § 5164.

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What does a Vermont civil union ceremony have to include?
Vermont law is silent on the mechanics of both wedding and civil union ceremonies. Some authorities say that a minimum ceremony conducted by a judge or justice involves saying the words, "By the authority vested in me by the State of Vermont, I hereby join you in civil union." By signing the license the official is certifying that the parties entered into the civil union with mutual consent. Parties are free to discuss with the justice, judge or clergy member their own ideas of what they want in a ceremony.

A possible ceremony for civil unions performed by a justice of the peace, judge or clergy includes the following:

JUSTICE OF THE PEACE: We are here to join _____ and ______ in civil union. (Then to each in turn, giving names as appropriate) Will you ____ have ____ to be united as one in your civil union? RESPONSE: I will. JUSTICE OF THE PEACE: (Then to each in turn, giving names as appropriate): Then repeat after me: "I ____ take you ____ to be my spouse in our civil union, to have and to hold from this day on, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, to love and to cherish forever." (Then, if rings are used, each in turn says, as the ring is put on): "With this ring I join with you in this our civil union." JUSTICE OF THE PEACE: By the power vested in me by the State of Vermont, I hereby join you in civil union.

How can I prove that I am legally a party to a civil union?
A copy of the civil union certificate received from the town or county clerk, the commissioner of health or the director of public records shall be presumptive evidence of the civil union in all courts. 18 V.S.A. § 5167.

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How are civil unions dissolved?
The Vermont family court has jurisdiction over all proceedings relating to the dissolution of civil unions. The dissolution of civil unions follows the same procedures and is subject to the same substantive rights and obligations that are involved in the dissolution of marriage, including any residency requirements. 18 V.S.A. § 1206.

It is unclear how other states may handle a civil union dissolution; however, in Vermont, a residency requirement exists for dissolving either a marriage or a civil union. A complaint to dissolve a civil union in Vermont may be brought if either party to the civil union has resided within the state for a period of six months or more, but dissolution cannot be granted unless one of the parties has resided in the state at least one year preceding the date of the final hearing.

For Additional Information, Contact The Secretary of State's Office:
Redstone Building
26 Terrace Street
Drawer 09
Montpelier, VT 05609-1101
1-802-828-2363