Palimony

Palimony is a form of alimony awarded to one member of a nonmarital couple who have separated.

Wikipedia: palimony

Palimony is a slang term coined by attorney Marvin Mitchelson in 1977 when his client Michelle Triola (who called herself Michelle Triola Marvin at the time) filed an unsuccessful suit against actor Lee Marvin. The term is a portmanteau of pal and alimony. Mitchelson, who often handled celebrity divorces, created the term as a media soundbite to publicize the Marvin case. See Marvin v. Marvin, 18 Cal. 3d 660 (1976).

Marvin v. Marvin

Michelle Marvin claimed that Lee Marvin, who was still married at the time they began living together, had promised to support her for the rest of her life. In the end, in Marvin v. Marvin, the California Supreme Court ruled that Michelle Marvin had not proven the existence of a contract between herself and Mr. Marvin that gave her an interest in his property. Thus, the common law rule applied to the situation without alteration, and she took away from the relationship and the household what she brought to it.

The Court went on to explain that while the state abolished common law marriage in 1896, California law recognizes non-marital relationship contracts. These contracts may be express or implied, oral or written--but they must be provable in any case. The contract may also provide for a sexual relationship as long as it is not a contract for sexual services. Eventually, the California Court of Appeal ruled that since Triola and Lee Marvin never had any contract, she was entitled to no money.

Legal definitions

Despite the quasi-divorce proceeding suggested by the word, "palimony" is not a legal term and has never been used by the California Supreme Court. The legal term, at least in California, is "non-marital relationship contract." Because the relationship is non-marital, the family court has no jurisdiction over it. Disputes about contract terms, and civil suits to enforce them, are heard in the general trial courts (in California, called "superior court").

Non-marital relationship contracts (or "palimony agreements," to use the slang) are not limited to two people, and because they are non-marital any party to a non-marital relationship contract can also be party to a marriage.

In addition to those who form an express, written contract to ensure the property interests they have contracted in each other are enforceable, some people draft an express, written contract that specifies they have not contracted for any interest in the other party's(-ies') property.