How do civil unions work in sl?

[DaveyHavok117]

I would like to know cause me and my partner don't want to have a partner listed on our profile.

[Griffin Ceawlin]

Huh?

If you don't want a partner listed in your profile(s), don't partner. There is no other... arrangement... that involves LL.

[Rolig Loon]

Just be friends.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

Being partnered doesn't necessarily mean you are married or even exclusive.  It just means that the person is special to you..  You can define the relationship better in your 2nd Life Biography area or a profile pick.

Alternatively you can also not partner and put something in your profile about your relationship to your significant other if you want to tell the world.  There are a lot of SL couples that do this and a lot that put nothing in their profile at all because they don't think their private SL is anyone's business.

The choice is your's.

[Lindal Kidd]

A "civil union" in RL is a recognized form of marriage, equivalent (in law) to a religious marriage.

In SL, all we have is "partnership", which encompasses all forms of union.  You can have any sort of ceremony you want, or none.

SL partnership can stretch to cover many forms of relationships...an exclusive union, an open relationship, a platonic friendship, a business relationship, a master/slave relationship, same sex, heterosexual, and anything else you can think of.

Not only that, but you can be "married" WITHOUT registering an official "partnership".  Just say you are married, or partnered, or together, or whatever you choose.

In short, there are no rules about any of this stuff, so do whatever makes you and your partner happy.