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Non-Married Partner Issues
When married
couples split up, there is an entire body of law devoted to how property and
debt will be divided, and how maintenance (alimony) will be paid.
When
non-married partners split up, there is little law to guide them or judges
in how to split property and debt (unless the parties have a written
domestic partnership agreement). Non-married partners cannot make a claim
for maintenance, but can make a claim for palimony.
As a result,
the legal aspect of non-married partner break-ups is complex. Instead of
divorce laws, there are partition actions, claims for a finding of a
constructive or resulting trust, claims of a joint venture, replevin
actions, evictions, breach of contract claims and unjust enrichment claims.
Instead of a trial to a court, there can be a jury trial. Instead of a “fast
track” process, there is the very long and cumbersome civil court process.
There is,
however, new case law from the Colorado Supreme Court that we think makes
things easier. Under this new case, Lewis v. Lewis, 07 S.C.134 (August 18,
2008), the Court held that if one person received a benefit at the other
person’s expense and the persons are close family members or confidants at
with a mutual purpose, one person can make a claim against the other if
there is a significant deviation from the mutual purpose. Translating into
the non-married partner scenario, if a couple acted upon an agreement to
share and share alike, the breaking of that agreement may allow one partner
to make a claim against the other. Trust us, this is a big deal.
Legal matters
involving property and debt disputes between non-married partners come with
a lot of uncertainty. It is extremely important in these cases to seek
counsel from an attorney with knowledge and experience in these areas.
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