Registering Relationships

Research output: Articlepeer-review

Abstract

Despite the dramatic changes in family structure in the past decades — including the unprecedented and skyrocketing number of families who live in non-marital arrangements — marriage and marriage-mimic institutions remain the only legal options for the recognition of relationships. This regulatory regime leaves millions of Americans without the means to establish and protect relationship rights. The article suggests that the legal issues arising from non-marital relationships would be best addressed if more options for legal recognition of such relationships were offered. Accordingly, this article presents the primary principles of a registration-based marriage alternative, founded on contract: “registered contractual relationships.” This legal institution would offer couples the option to sign — and deposit with the state registrar — a contract defining the partners’ obligations and rights vis-à-vis one another and changing their status to that of “registered partners.” Registered partners would receive most of the rights and benefits that the state provides for married couples. Registration would not require a solemnization process nor any ceremonial or religious component and would provide an easy way to dissolve relationships in cases where couples do not have minor children. This model enjoys the flexibility of contracts and the certainty of official registration. It promotes greater autonomy in family formation in two ways: it allows more choice among state-sanctioned mechanisms; and it allows people to design the terms of their relationships, rather than imposing the one-size-fits-all structure of marriage. The introduction of registered contractual relationships would have far-reaching legal and societal consequences. It would provide a functional model for registration and termination of partnerships, offer an alternative that is free of (and reduces) the harmful symbolism of marriage, and accommodate a wide range of family structures. At the same time, it would efficiently address the state’s need to regulate some aspects of relationships in the interest of avoiding and mediating conflict and of encouraging couples to think about and negotiate their rights early in their relationships. The article also looks at the success of the French PACS — a model that resembles registered contractual relationships and provides important lessons to the United States.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)573-648
JournalTulane Law Review
Volume87
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 2013

Cite this