Non-Marital Partnerships (#503)

Is a long-term serious, non-marital partnership the same as marriage? Should it be treated as the legal equivalent? Are people who are "just living together" getting the short end of the legal stick or is there good reason for keeping marriage in a legal category all its own? In this edition of Due Process, we examine the issues and arguments surrounding non-marital partnerships -both gay and straight. The show begins with a full report on a woman who has lost her temporary rehabilitative alimony because she is living with another man. The judge held that the relationship was the legal equivalent to marriage, but our other laws concerning things like benefits, insurance and inheritance don't agree. Are our laws keeping up with the way more and more couples now live?

Guests:

Mark Biel
Chair, NJ State Bar Association, Family Law Section
Certified Matrimonial Law attorney
Fellow and Board Member of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers

Marilyn Sneirson
A partner at NJ law firm
An attorney with a specialization in litigation.
Representing a gay man in his palimony lawsuit after the breakup of a 14 year committed relationship. This is a case of first impression in NJ.

John Tomicki
Executive Director, American League of Families