2021 Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 770 - Domestic partnership.
770.01 - Definitions.
770.01 Definitions. In this chapter:
(1) “Domestic partner" means an individual who has signed and filed a declaration of domestic partnership in the office of the register of deeds of the county in which he or she resides.
(2) “Domestic partnership" means the legal relationship that is formed between 2 individuals under this chapter.
History: 2009 a. 28.
Chapter 770 is constitutional based on the presumption of constitutionality, the plaintiffs' failure to meet the burden of proof, and the evidence reviewed from the drafting and ratification process. The plain language of the amendment prohibits only a status “identical or substantially similar to" marriage, and by implication it does not prohibit what is not identical or substantially similar thereto. There are important statutory distinctions in the way the state treats marriage and domestic partnerships and important differences in the lists of benefits and obligations that inhere in the two types of relationships. Appling v. Walker, 2014 WI 96, 358 Wis. 2d 132, 853 N.W.2d 888, 11-1572.
Understanding Domestic Partnerships in Wisconsin. Sweet. Wis. Law. Nov. 2009.
