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Effective January 1, 2006, an employee’s domestic partner (as defined below) and children of the domestic partner who qualify as federal income tax dependents of the employee (referred to in this policy as “dependent children”) will be eligible for coverage under Godfrey & Kahn’s medical and dental plans.
In addition, effective February 1, 2006, if your domestic partner and/or dependent children qualify as your federal income tax dependents, you may make pre-tax contributions under Godfrey & Kahn’s cafeteria plan to (1) pay for your share of the cost of their medical and dental coverage; (2) pay for the qualifying medical care expenses which you or they incur for their medical care; and/or (3) pay for the qualifying dependent care expenses which you incur for their dependent care. To the extent that your domestic partner is not your federal income tax dependent, (a) you must make after-tax contributions under Godfrey & Kahn’s cafeteria plan to pay for your share of the cost of his or her medical and dental coverage, and (b) you may not make after-tax (or pre-tax) contributions under that plan to pay for other medical care expenses which you or your domestic partner incurs for his or her medical care, or to pay for dependent care expenses which you incur for his or her dependent care.
Criteria for Domestic Partnership
Any Godfrey & Kahn employee may designate only one person as an eligible domestic partner for benefits. To qualify, both you and your domestic partner must have met all of the following criteria:
Domestic partners:
- You have been each other’s sole domestic partner (same or opposite sex) for at least one (1) year, and you intend to remain so indefinitely.
- You are not legally married to, under either statutory or common law, or the domestic partner of, anyone else.
- You do not have a former spouse who is currently utilizing Godfrey & Kahn’s benefits through a relationship with you.
- You are not related by blood so that you would be prohibited from marrying under applicable law.
- You are at least eighteen (18) years of age and legally able to enter into a contract.
- You have resided together in the same principal residence for at least one (1) year, and intend to reside together indefinitely.
- You are jointly responsible for the welfare and financial obligations of the household, or, your partner is dependent upon you for care and financial support, and you provide copies of at least three (3) of the following documents as evidence of financial interdependence:
(1) A deed (or lease) naming you as joint owners (or joint tenants) of the real property that is your principal residence;
(2) A statement from a joint credit or bank account;
(3) A will under which you designate your partner as a primary beneficiary;
(4) A beneficiary designation form under a retirement plan or life insurance policy by which you designate your partner as a primary beneficiary;
(5) A written domestic partnership contract which describes your joint financial obligations; or
(6) A written declaration or certificate of domestic partnership which you have filed previously with the county or municipality in which you principally reside.
- You have completed an “Affidavit of Domestic Partnership for Benefits Eligibility” and provided the Affidavit to Godfrey & Kahn’s Human Resources department.
Also, it must have been at least one (1) year since either has filed a “Statement of Termination” of a previous domestic partnership, if applicable.
Affidavit of Domestic Partnership
To enroll your domestic partner, and/or dependent children, in Godfrey & Kahn’s medical and dental plans, both the employee and the domestic partner must complete and sign an “Affidavit of Domestic Partnership for Benefits Eligibility.” The employee and/or domestic partner will also be required to provide additional documentation (see above) in support of the Affidavit.
Termination of Domestic Partnership
If there is any change in the information certified on the Affidavit of Domestic Partnership that would prevent the domestic partnership from satisfying one or more of the criteria specified above, the employee or domestic partner must complete a “Statement of Termination of Domestic Partnership” (available in Human Resources) and return it within thirty (30) days of the change.
Medical, dental, and, if applicable, cafeteria plan benefits for your domestic partner and/or dependent children will be discontinued on the last day of the calendar month in which the Statement of Termination is received in Human Resources.
The employee or domestic partner must also mail a copy of the Statement of Termination to his or her former partner within ten (10) days of completing that form. Once an employee submits his or her Statement of Termination to Human Resources, he or she may not cover another domestic partner for at least twelve (12) months from the date benefits were discontinued.
COBRA continuation coverage will not be available to any domestic partner or any child of a domestic partner who is not a tax dependent of the employee.
Tax Considerations
Under current federal income tax law, if your domestic partner or any child of your domestic partner does not qualify as your federal income tax dependent, you may not use pre-tax dollars under the cafeteria plan to pay for your share of the cost of their medical or dental coverage, to pay for medical care expenses which you or they incur for their medical care, or to pay for dependent care expenses which you incur for their dependent care. If your domestic partner is enrolled under the medical or dental plan but does not qualify as your federal income tax dependent (1) you must pay for your share of the cost of his or her medical or dental coverage with after-tax dollars under the cafeteria plan, and (2) the value of his or her medical or dental coverage (minus your share of the cost of that coverage) will be included in your taxable wages on your paycheck and on your form W-2 issued shortly after the end of the year. Godfrey & Kahn is obligated to withhold income and FICA taxes from the includible amount. However, the value of the actual medical or dental benefits received by your domestic partner (for example, the cost of a hospital stay) will not be included in your wages.
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