Daily Staff Writer

Until same-sex marriage is legal, partners in same-sex couples won’t share the same legal and financial benefits that married couples now share, including:

* Government benefits such as Social Security and Medicare.

* Joint insurance policies for health, home and automobile.

* Retirement benefits.

* The right to make medical decisions for a partner.

* Family leave to care for a sick partner or child.

* Wrongful-death benefits.

* Immigration for a partner from another country.

* Domestic violence protection orders.

* Joint parental custody.

* Alimony.

* Tax advantages.

* Inheritance rights.

* Divorce rights.

* Hospital visitation rights.

* Confidentiality of conversations.

* Right to decide what to do with a partner’s corpse.