GAYS CAUTIOUS ABOUT CALIF. PARTNERS LAW: From the San Francisco Chronicle

Gay men and lesbians throughout California are poised to celebrate when the state's muscular new domestic partners law takes effect Jan. 1 -- but a funny thing is happening on the way to the ribbon cutting. Some committed couples are saying thanks, but no thanks.

They are dissolving their current legal partnerships or declining to sign up, mainly because they're worried that under the new law -- which extends state marriage rights and responsibilities to same-sex partners -- their public benefits could be slashed, or they could wind up in a financial or legal quagmire.

In July and August, more people dissolved their state domestic partnerships -- 202 and 111, respectively -- than in any month since January 2000, when the registry started.

Over the summer, the secretary of state's office mailed letters to the 28,083 couples who have registered under the current, weaker law, warning of potentially undesired consequences of the new version and the Jan. 1 deadline for opting out. The new domestic partners law, AB205, was signed in August 2003 by then-Gov. Gray Davis. ...

Gale Golden and her longtime partner, Jeanine Reisbig, of San Francisco plan to dissolve their partnership before the end of the year to avoid jeopardizing Golden's SSI benefits. She has been dealing with chronic pain since a 1989 car accident.

"We will essentially be forced to deregister," Reisbig said. "We will have to go back to the old days when people used Nolo Press and created contracts that replicated marriage contracts."

On the other end of the financial spectrum, some wealthy gays and lesbians are blanching at the prospect of their income, assets -- and debt -- turning into community property. Under the new law, ending a partnership could entail losing half one's assets, just like divorce.

It's possible for couples to contract their way out of certain community property rules through prenuptial agreements. But a prenup could cost $3,000 to $5,000, said Frederick Hertz, an Oakland attorney, and when it comes to spousal support, written agreements are not necessarily enforceable. ...

To be sure, registering is critical for some gay couples, particularly those starting families, because the new law guarantees parental rights to the nonbiological parent, said Patricia Robertson, a professor at UCSF Medical Center and co-director of the Center for Lesbian Health Research.

But it may not be the most prudent decision for everyone, she said.

"Gay and lesbian relationships have not been as financially intertwined as marriage historically, which was traditionally structured on the basis that women were the property of men," she said in an e-mail.

"For a lot of LGBT (lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender) people, being independent financially is an important part of who they are," Robertson said. "To be told by the law that their financial relationship is now expected to mimic that of a married couple is unknown territory."

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