Living together as the same sex

There are many different ways in which rainbow families live together. A rainbow family is a family in which at least one parent is lesbian, gay, bisexual or pansexual, trans* or inter*. Until 2017, homosexual couples could only legally secure their family model through a registered civil partnership. Since October 1, 2017, "marriage for all" has been possible. Read this article to find out what this means for same-sex and queer couples.

"Marriage for all" has been in place since October 2017. This makes it possible for two people - regardless of gender - to marry each other.

In order to enter into a marriage, the following conditions must be met:

• Both partners must be of legal age and have full legal capacity.
• The partners are not married or partnered.
• The partners are not related to each other in a direct line.
• The partners do not enter into a marriage of convenience.

Same-sex marriage is almost equal to the marriage of heterosexual couples when it comes to tax, family and custody aspects. Same-sex married couples can also adopt other people's children together (and not one after the other). However, there are still differences when it comes to adoption and parentage law:

Since 2001, the German Civil Partnership Act (LPartG) has made it possible for same-sex couples to enter into a registered civil partnership in order to legally secure their relationship. All legal issues are regulated in the LPartG.

Since the introduction of "marriage for all" on October 1, 2017, however, it is no longer possible to enter into a registered civil partnership. It has been abolished. You can (but do not have to) convert an existing registered civil partnership into a marriage.

Most of the provisions of the Civil Partnership Act have been harmonized with statutory marriage law over time. For example, the same rules apply to the right to a name, the rules on family maintenance or maintenance payments in the event of separation and parental maintenance. The matrimonial property regime of community of accrued gains also applies to both partners, unless expressly agreed otherwise. This applies to registered civil partnerships as well as married couples. There are also no differences to married couples when it comes to pension equalization.

However, there are differences if you wish to adopt a child together. In a civil partnership, you cannot adopt a child at the same time, but only in the form of a successive adoption. Detailed information on the forms of adoption can be found here on the Familienportal.NRW.

If you entered into a registered civil partnership before 2017, you can continue it or convert it into a marriage. The marriage takes place at the registry office. In addition to the usual documents, the civil partnership certificate must be presented.