Domestic partnership now legal in Maine: The new law, which takes effect 90 days after the signing, extends domestic partnership rights to heterosexual or gay adults who live together under long-term arrangements. It also gives domestic partners the same inheritance rights as a spouse when a married partner dies without a will. "From the beginning, this has been about fairness and justice for what are today's families here in Maine, and giving them the same protections that certain married couples have already," said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Ben Dudley, D-Portland.