NYC Grants Domestic Partnership Ceremonies at City Clerks Office

New York City has allowed couples to register as domestic partners since 1993, but it wasn't until last week that the city began granting same-sex couples the option to have a ceremony at the clerk's office. The ceremony is the same service that is offered to opposite-sex couples, and the ceremony costs a grand total of $25.

Gelixa Ortiz and Elizabeth Rivera were two of the first to take advantage of the new opportunity. The couple formally joined their lives in front of 13 loved ones, exchanging rings in an intimate ceremony.

New York's domestic partnership does not carry all the same rights as marriage, and the ceremony does not carry any additional legal benefits. Very few couples have taken advantage of the ceremony thus far as it is just that, a legal ceremony. In the first two days the ceremony was available only five couples went through it.

If you would like to learn more about domestic partnership, find a family law attorney that is familiar with this area of law.