A reciprocal beneficiary is a
type of legal arrangement that is offered in some states, such as Hawaii, whereby two
non-married
people can assign some, but not all, of the rights of married couples to one another.
John and Matt were a gay couple in
Hawaii, but could not legally marry each other or form a civil union/domestic partnership. So Matt designated John as his reciprocal beneficiary to at least
get a few
rights.