Session Descriptions

Karen Boxx, Professor, University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, WA

Terry J. Price, Associate Teaching Professor, University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, WA

How Washington Protects Unmarried Couples

“Marriages” have taken many shapes and forms, with varying levels of formality, governmental involvement, and documentation, at least since Roman times. Since there is a lack of consistent and authoritative documentary evidence establishing CIRs (committed intimate relationships), as would be present in a marriage, litigating a CIR case requires first establishing the relationship before any property division. Courts must undertake a fact-driven analysis to determine whether certain factors are met: “continuous cohabitation, duration of the relationship, purpose of the relationship, pooling of resources and services for joint projects, and the intent of the parties.” Only afterwards will the court divide the property, and then only the property that would have been community property if the parties had been married. Because the doctrine is still evolving based on the cases presented to the appellate courts, there are significant issues still to be resolved.  The Washington approach extends some considerable protection to the more vulnerable cohabitants, such as a partner not employed outside the home or couples who were historically unable to marry, and it bases that protection on the existence of the relationship rather than actual contributions by or agreements between partners.

• Participants will understand the complexities of identifying a committed intimate relationship (CIR) for the purposes of property division.
• Participants will understand better how the court will treat property division for CIR parties and how that differs from the marital dissolution standard.
• Participants will understand what issues are still not clear under the existing CIR laws.