Tampa’s Domestic Partnership Registry Goes Into Effect

On June 25, 2012, the City of Tampa opened up its Domestic Partnership Registry for applications. This allows for committed same sex and unmarried heterosexual couples to have expanded rights, such as the following:

Healthcare visitation for partners and dependents of partners;
Healthcare decision-making for incapacitated partners;
Funeral and burial decisions for partners;
Notification of partners as family members in cases of emergency;
Pre-need guardian designation will not be denied based solely on being homosexual; and
Participation in education decisions for the partner’s dependent children.

To sign up for the registry, couples must go to the Office of the City Clerk, located at 315 East Kennedy Boulevard, Third Floor, Tampa, Florida 33602. Registration is open from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., though beginning July 9 registration hours will be from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Initial registration costs $30 and is payable by cash or check (directed to the City of Tampa). Amendments to the Domestic Partnership Registry Affidavit cost $15, and terminations of domestic partnerships cost $15.

Make sure that both partners appear together to become registered, and that each partner brings photo identification (a driver’s license or other Class 1 ID).

Once you have registered, you will receive one original domestic partnership registration certificate, one additional copy of the completed registration certificate, and two copies of the unrecorded affidavit.

Make sure to keep in mind that the Tampa Domestic Partnership Registry is maintained by the City of Tampa. Accordingly, under Florida’s sunshine laws, registration will not be kept private, and will be recorded in the public records of Hillsborough County and searchable online.

I recently attended a statewide seminar on representing Florida LGBT clients, and there was a lot of excitement regarding the opening of Tampa’s registry for applicants.

If you have questions regarding your Florida family law rights and you wish to speak with a Tampa Bay family law attorney in a friendly and supportive atmosphere, contact The Law Firm of Adam B. Cordover, P.A., at (813)443-0615 or by filling out our online form.

About Adam B. Cordover, Attorney-at-Law

Family Diplomacy is dedicated to helping clients restructure their families privately and respectfully. We practice exclusively in out-of-court dispute resolution, with a focus on collaborative divorce and family law, mediation, direct negotiations, and unbundled legal services. We maintain this out-of-court practice because we strongly believe that family disputes should be resolved in a private conference room, not in a hostile and public courtroom environment. This unique perspective on family law stems back to Adam B. Cordover’s experience studying International Affairs in Washington, D.C., and abroad. Adam had the rare opportunity to work closely with ambassadors and diplomats from war-torn regions around the world. He traveled around the globe, learning from diplomatic leaders as they applied dispute resolution techniques to tackle seemingly impossible conflicts. It dawned on him: If these techniques can work in the complex world of International Relations, why not Domestic Relations and Family Law? This realization lead Adam to create an exclusively out-of-court practice and to bring a more peacemaking approach to family law. In his previous role as a litigation attorney, Adam witnessed parties experience the negative emotional and financial effects that long, drawn out divorce battles can have on families. As a result, Adam has become a strong proponent of the Collaborative Process, where a structure is put in place so that life’s hardest moments do not have to be any more difficult than necessary. A thought leader in the international collaborative law community, Adam successfully spearheaded an effort of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit to draft an administrative order safeguarding the principles of collaborative family law (just the fourth such administrative order in Florida). Adam has been featured in or interviewed about collaborative practice by the Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Business Journal, Florida Bar News, NBC, Fox 13, Bay News 9, ABC Action News, The World of Collaborative Practice Magazine, and Spirit FM 90.5. Adam regularly speaks at professional and civic organizations locally and internationally regarding the collaborative process. Adam B. Cordover is president of Next Generation Divorce, a 501(c)(3) and Florida’s largest interdisciplinary collaborative practice group with member attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial professionals throughout Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Sarasota, and Manatee Counties. Adam is also on the Executive Board and co-chair of the Research Committee of the Collaborative Family Law Council of Florida. Further, Adam is a graduate of the inaugural class of the Leadership Academy of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. You can learn more about us and our services at www.FamilyDiplomacy.com. Attorney Adam B. Cordover is admitted to the Florida Bar and the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida. His office is located at 412 East Madison Street, Suite 824, Tampa, Florida 33602.

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