Domestic partnerships are very similar to marriage, but apply to unmarried partners who share a common household and are in an intimate relationship. The relation is, unlike marriage, not legally identified as a marriage by the state in which the individuals reside.
A domestic partnership consists of two people of different or the same sex. There are state laws that use the phrase “Spousal equivalent” to refer to a relationship in which the partners provide similar physical, financial and emotional commitment to that of a legally sanctioned marriage.