The major reason businesses ask employees to sign one is in the hopes of preventing potential fraud. However, signing such a document still guarantees nothing, for after all, even those with marriage licenses commit fraud.

Further, if a business doesn’t ask to see a marriage license in order to get benefits, then it has no valid reason to ask for a domestic partner affidavit.

Practically speaking, we find that the majority of people are honest and these affidavits really serves no useful purpose. Unfortunately, some of these affidavits can potentially harm those who sign. And some of them have requirements way beyond that which is required of a marriage license.

Couples signing an affidavit should expect a written promise from an employer that it will be held confidential, subject to disclosure only upon written authorization or court order. However, forms filed with cities or counties are usually public information.

Since the document can potentially make partners financially liable for each other’s support and debts, some couples and attorneys have questioned the wisdom of registering, particularly if doing so provides only negligible benefits. For this reason, it may be advisable to consult an attorney before signing.

If an affidavit is absolutely required by a business, here are some guidelines for their creation. Shown below are various provisions seen in affidavits, along with our commentary. First we present elements of a fairer affidavit (“The Good”), which most closely resembles the terms of legal marriage. Following that are elements that we view as inappropriate to downright unjust.

Unlike legal marriage, which has consistent rules within each state, there can be significant differences in affidavits from town to town, as well as from business to business. The City of Berkeley, the first U.S. government to offer domestic partner benefits in 1984, uses an affidavit stating that after terminating an affidavit a new one cannot be filed for six months. Seattle’s affidavit has a waiting period of 30 days.

If the idea of the registration is to create equal conditions for those who are not allowed to marry, we question some of the conditions that crop up in some of these forms. For instance, those affidavits, like Seattle’s, which require that the couple live together and “have a close personal relationship.” Legal marriage does not require that the couple live together, have sex, be in love, or even like each other.

In all, domestic partner registration is an extremely poor second to legal marriage and it only makes sense to sign such affidavits when it provides a real benefit, such as health insurance, that would otherwise be unavailable.

For those partners desiring validation as a couple, it may be more sensible to consider instead creating a wedding or other ceremony to celebrate the love and commitment.