New Jersey enacted its domestic partnership law in 2004, becoming the fourth U.S. state to mandate legal protection for same-sex couples. Although the new law provides some important rights and responsibilities to couples who register their partnership, there are significant legal issues that are not adequately addressed or, in some cases, missing entirely. New Jersey Domestic Partners is designed to help same-sex couples who may be considering domestic partnership in New Jersey, or who may already have registered, understand the extent of these newly won rights and responsibilities.

This guide also looks at alternatives to domestic partnership and the ways in which a same-sex couple can extend their rights if they do register. Attorney Stephen J. Hyland adresses the significant items that are missing from the law, such as parenting, guardianship, wills and estate planning, and taxation, and he examines the difficult issues associated with ending a registered domestic partnership.

Written by one of New Jersey's leading experts on the Domestic Partnership Act, New Jersey Domestic Partners is directed at the layperson and is designed to provide practical advice to same-sex couples who want to protect themselves and their families. The guide is supplemented with a frequently updated website, www.njdomesticpartnership.com, which provides up-to-date information on the rights of same-sex couples in New Jersey.

Stephen J. Hyland is a partner at Hill Wallack, Attorneys-at-Law, in Princeton, New Jersey. He is the author of numerous articles on gay and lesbian legal issues.