Civil union partners are partners who are in a marriage-like legal relationship. If a couple is in a civil union they receive inheritance rights, employment benefits, property, parental rights, etc.
The exact level of rights, benefits, obligations, and responsibilities of civil union partners varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For example, some jurisdictions allow civil union partners to adopt, while others forbid them to do so, or only allow adoption in specified circumstances. Civil union relationships were more common when same-sex marriage was illegal. The United States Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex marriage is legal in every state and each state must recognize a same-sex marriage performed in other states.
See also: civil union
[Last updated in August of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]