Editing Civil union (section)

====California====
{{Main|Domestic partnership in California}}
In California, where domestic partnership (DP) has been available to same-sex and certain opposite-sex couples since 2000, a wholesale revision of the law in 2005 made it substantially equivalent to marriage at the state level.  In 2007, the Legislature took a further step when it required same-sex DP couples to file state income taxes jointly.  (Couples must continue to file federal taxes as individuals.)  In the May 2008 ''[[In re Marriage Cases]]'' decision, the state supreme court noted nine [[Domestic partnership in California#Differences from marriage|differences between Domestic Partnerships and same-sex marriage]] in state law, including a cohabitation requirement for domestic partners, access to CalPERS long-term care insurance (but not CalPERS in general), and the lack of an equivalent to California's "confidential marriage" institution.<ref name="irmf24">[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/californiastatecases/s147999.pdf In Re Marriage Cases], California Supreme Court Decision, footnote 24, pages 42–44.</ref> The cohabitation requirement was dropped on January 1, 2012, and a "confidential option" for domestic partners became available the same day.