How U.S. family law might deal with spousal relationships of three (or more) people.

Date

2020

Authors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Arizona State University

Abstract

For much of this nation’s history, the vast majority of people have believed that being married to more than one person at the same time is deeply problematic. Further, polygamous marriage has never been legal in the United States. Despite this, some people have been in plural or group relationships and some of these people have wished to gain legal recognition for these relationships. The arguments for recognizing such relationships are persuasive, but the prospects for legalization of polygamous marriage seem slim in the near future. This Article offers a suggestion of how the law of domestic relations might deal with such relationships, focusing on same-sex “triads.” The proposal is that domestic partnership or civil union laws, which remain on the books in some jurisdictions, but are now rarely used, could be repurposed and adapted to recognize and protect triads and perhaps other group and plural relationships.

Description

Scholarly article / Open access

Keywords

U.S. Family Law, spousal relationships, domestic relations, same-sex triads, domestic partnership, civil union laws

Citation

Stein, E. (2020). How U.S. family law might deal with spousal relationships of three (or more) people. Arizona State Law Review, 51(4), 1395-1420.