Bar Bulletin

Bar Bulletin

Committed Intimate Relationships: They’re Not Just for Family Law Practitioners Anymore

November 2019 Bar Bulletin

By Hon. Helen Halpert (Ret.)

Americans are increasingly choosing to live in intimate relationships without being married. Interestingly, the age cohort with the greatest increase in this type of living arrangement are people over the age of 50.1 

The legal implications for these relationships are very broad and extend far beyond the division of property at the end of a relationship. Division of property upon the death of one partner, creditor/debtor rights and potentially even tort liability all may be impacted by the existence of a committed intimate relationship (CIR).2 To cite just one example, although the laws of intestate succession do...

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