domestic partnerships

Basically from what I can tell a domestic partnership differs from a marriage in that it is probably easier (no divorce paperwork/settlement) to walk away from. The advantages of a domestic partnership seem to be the fact that the members of these unions in many cases are given the same rights as married people without actually being married. Some of the "fringe" benefits that members of a domestic partnership are now given are as follows: health benefits, memberships to facilities, family and funeral leave, family membership rates, and inheritance protection. Some of the disadvantages are arrangements when children are involved, some insurance companies require conventional family ties to collect benefits. The biggest disadvantage that I think exists within these partnerships would have to be that they are limited to same sex couples since heterosexual couples have the ability to marry they are excluded.