The NY State gay marriage change...What does it mean for us?

My partner and I are one of the thousands of couples who will be affected by Gov. Patterson's directive to state agencies that they review state regulations and apply them equally to gays and lesbians who have been married in other jurisdictions.

My question is: What will this mean for us?

Does this affect public employees only, or people who work for private companies as well? Will my partner, who works for a large international company, now be able to buy life insurance for me, like the heterosexual employees of her company can do for their spouses? Will she be entitled to my Social Security benefits? Can I collect her pension?

Will she now be able to join me on my rent-stabilized lease?

Will we still be taxed for the health insurance her company provides for me as a domestic partner? Right now, it is considered as income, whereas that isn't the case with heterosexual based families.

Last night our family was calling us to congratulate us. We are very happy about this milestone, and very impressed by Gov. Patterson. But we don't quite know what this will mean for us at a pragmatic level yet...

health care proxies, powers of attorney, and how 'bout this? Can you claim your partner as your spouse on FEDERAL income tax returns if you file in New York State with that status?

but I'd say that any federal taxes will not be affected by this ruling, while state taxes and regs will.