The Law Office of Edward Misleh
The Law Office of Edward Misleh
Skip to content
  • Home Page
  • Areas of Practice
    • Divorce Attorney
    • Domestic Violence Attorney
    • Child Custody Attorney
    • Child Support Attorney
    • Spousal Support Attorney
    • Community Property Attorney
    • Guardianship Attorney
    • Family Law Attorney
    • Adoption Attorney
    • California Attorney Blog
  • Resources
    • Forms
    • California Attorney Blog
    • Our Office
    • Website Search
    • Site Map
  • The Law Offices
  • Contact Us

-

Home » Areas of Practice » Family Law » Marvin Claim

Marvin Claim

Posted on January 7, 2018October 27, 2019 by edmisleh

Marvin Claim

Under California law, you do not have to be legally married in order to receive financial support from your partner.  By filing a Marvin claim, you could receive “palimony” after your relationship has ended.

A Marvin claim gets its name from a 1976 California Supreme Court decision known as Marvin v. Marvin 18 Cal.3d 660 [134 Cal.Rptr. 815, 557 P.2d 106].  This was the first case to address rights that a partner, who is not married, may have from an expressed or implied agreement for property sharing after they separate.  You do not have the same rights as a legally married spouse, but can win support if you can prove a contract exists between you and your partner.

Marvin Claim Based on Cohabitation

In California, two people living together or cohabitating, have a legal relationship and a claim on each other’s property or assets.  When your relationship terminates, property and income can be divide between you and your partner.

In 1976, the California courts recognized a cause of action that one partner might have against another based on an implied agreement or understanding while the two were cohabitating.  As a result of famous “palimony” cases tried in California, the concept of living together began to have legal consequences.  Rights that once only a spouse had, such as money owed for support to one person by another after the relationship dissolved, are now commonly considered in relationships were no marriage existed.

Evaluating Marvin Claim for Support

To evaluate a Marvin claim for support, the court will look at factors such as how long the parties lived together, if one of the parties was providing financial support while the other was attending to homemaking and/or childcare duties, and if the parties jointly contributed towards the purchase of property.  If the parties worked together in a business, the relative contributions of each party would also be considered in determining if a support claim is founded.  Contributions that allowed one person to attend school to boost his or her earning potential will also be given careful consideration.

Actions Supporting a Marvin Claim

Marvin claims are most likely to be successful if the couple was in a cohabitating relationship for a significant amount of time, there is a large income discrepancy between the parties, and the person seeking support can prove that he or she sacrificed potential earnings in order to do what was necessary for his or her partner’s career advancement.

In one case, the court denied a Marvin claim because the partners never lived together.  In Taylor v. Fields (1986) 178 Cal.App.3d 653 [224 Cal.Rptr. 186], the plaintiff, Taylor, was unsuccessful in her support request even though she had a relationship with a married man for 42 years.  She sued his widow after his passing, claiming that he had agreed to take care of her financially.  The court found that she had no relationship that fell within Marvin claim principles because she never lived with her lover.

Marvin Claim for Property

Unmarried people living together have no rights to the other person’s property unless they have entered into a cohabitation agreement, which can be either written or implied.  The built-in protection that a spouse has as a married person does not exist when two people live together.  The fact that two people are living together or cohabitating is irrelevant to property rights between the two.  The obligation one person has to another is strictly a contract question with no consideration of their cohabitation arrangement.

For example, the length of time the parties lived together is of no consequence to the amount of support, if any, that is awarded after the relationship terminates.  The amount awarded depends on the agreement that existed between the couple.  On the other hand, the length of a marriage is a determining factor is awarding support and dividing property.  The relevant question in cohabitation arrangements is whether the two people had an agreement to divide property, own assets together, or support one another.  A claim based on that agreement is known as a Marvin claim.

Marvin Claims in Bankruptcy

The judgment your ex-partner owes on a Marvin claim can be discharged if he or she files bankruptcy.  However, awards for spousal support are not dischargeable and must be paid. Moreover, spousal support payments are tax deductible.

Cohabitation Agreements

A cohabitation agreement protects your interests by clearly spelling out your obligations to one another.  If one of you is supporting the other person by paying a mortgage, utility bills, buying food, clothing or vehicles, the agreement can provide that such support will terminate if the relationship ends.

The agreement needs to cover how you and your partner wish to be treated during the relationship and when it terminates.  Some points of interest are:

  • Each partner’s obligation for expenses.
  • Each partner’s obligation for debts.
  • Support to be provided.
  • No obligation for support if all expenses are shared equally.
  • Amount and number of payments, if any, made by one partner to the other after relationship is terminates.
  • Waiver of any claims of support after the relationship is terminated.
  • Contributions to any joint bank account and classification of funds held in the account.
  • Disposition of jointly owned property and distribution of the proceeds.
  • Revoking the agreement if cohabitation is ended on mutual agreement.
  • Distribution of property upon one partner’s death.

Marvin Claims and Marriage

Marriage does not extinguish your right to file a Marvin claim. The Marvin claim is a separate lawsuit from the divorce proceedings.  Once the lawsuit is filed, it can then be consolidated with the divorce action.

Marvin Claim Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations for a Marvin Claim based on a contract is 4 years after the relationship ends if there is a written agreement.  If the agreement is oral or implied, there is a 2-year statute of limitations.  The important thing to note is when the relationship ends which can be an issue tried in court.  Additionally, you should remember that the agreement does not have to be written or express to be enforceable.  Instead, if one of the partners in a cohabitation arrangement can prove that an implied partnership (i.e., contract) existed, that party may be owed compensation.  Moreover, cohabitation is not a prerequisite to the finding of an implied agreement between unmarried persons concerning their property.

CALL NOW TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT

321-951-9164

For more information about Divorce and Property, click on one of the following links:

Cohabitation Claims

Annulment

Putative Spouse

California Putative Spouse

Putative Spouse

California Prenuptial Agreement

California Divorce

Simple Divorce

Family Law Divorce

The Law Offices of Edward Misleh, APC

Law Offices of Edward Misleh

Web Site Search

This disclaimer provides that any information provided on this website by The Law  Offices of Edward Misleh, APC is strictly informational and should not be interpreted or considered as legal advice.  If you have a legal concern, you should contact our office to speak with a licensed California Attorney.  Delaying to contact an attorney could result in harm to your interests.

Attorney-Client Relationship

No Attorney-Client Relationship Created by use of this Website: Neither your receipt of information from this website, nor your use of this website to contact The Law Offices of Edward Misleh, APC or one of its attorneys creates an attorney-client relationship between you and The Law Offices of Edward Misleh, APC. As a matter of policy, The Law Offices of Edward Misleh, APC does not accept a new client without first investigating for possible conflicts of interests and obtaining a signed engagement letter. Accordingly, you should not use this website to provide confidential information about a legal matter of yours to The Law Offices of Edward Misleh, APC.

Contacting us by telephone, email or other means, or transmitting information to us, will not establish an attorney-client relationship. The attorney-client relationship can only be established after we have determined that we are able and willing to accept the engagement and we have entered into a written engagement agreement. Until then, do not send any confidential information to us unless we specifically request it. Information communicated without such authorization may not be treated as confidential, secret or otherwise be protected from disclosure, and The Law Offices of Edward Misleh, APC will not be precluded from representing parties adverse to the sender of such information in any matter.

No Legal Advice Intended

This website includes information about legal issues and legal developments. Such materials are for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current legal developments. These informational materials are not intended, and should not be taken, as legal advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances. You should contact an attorney for advice on specific legal problems.

No Guarantee of Results

Many of the practice summaries and individual attorney biography on this website describe results obtained in matters handled for The Law Offices of Edward Misleh, APC clients. These descriptions are meant only to provide information about the activities and experience of our attorney. They are not intended as a guarantee that the same or similar results can be obtained in every matter undertaken by our attorney; and, you should not assume that a similar result can be obtained in a legal matter of interest to you. The outcome of a particular matter can depend on a variety of factors—including the specific factual and legal circumstances, the ability of opposing counsel, and, often, unexpected developments beyond the control of any client or attorney.

Third Party Websites

As a convenience, this website may provide links to third-party websites. Such linked websites are not under the control of The Law Offices of Edward Misleh, APC, and The Law Offices of Edward Misleh, APC assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the contents of such websites.

No Warranty or Liability

The information in this site is provided “AS-IS,” without representation or warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including, without limitation, any representation or warranty as to suitability, reliability, applicability, accuracy, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, result, outcome or any other matter. We do not represent or warrant that such information is or will be up-to-date, complete or accurate, or free from errors, viruses, spyware, malware, adware, worms or other malicious code, or will function to meet your requirements.

You agree that we are not liable to you or others in any way for any damages of any kind or under any theory arising from this site, your access to or use of or reliance on the information in this site, including, but not limited to, liability or damages under contract, tort or other theories or any damages caused by lost data, malicious code, denials of service (including computer crashes), business interruption or other commercial damages or losses, even if we may have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Authorized Practice of Law

The jurisdiction in which our attorney is licensed to practice is in the State of California. The ability of our attorney to engage in any activities on behalf of a client outside that attorney’s state of licensure is subject to state statutes and professional codes and court rules. The Law Offices of Edward Misleh, APC does not seek, and this website is not intended to solicit, legal employment outside our attorney’s states of licensure that would constitute the unauthorized practice of law.

Intellectual Property Owned by The Law Offices of Edward Misleh, APC

Except as otherwise noted, all trademarks, photographs and other artwork, video clips, and written materials used in this site are protected by copyright laws and are owned or licensed by The Law Offices of Edward Misleh, APC. You may download information from our site for your temporary, personal, non-commercial use only. None of these items may be copied, reproduced, downloaded, posted, transmitted, broadcast or otherwise distributed in any manner without our prior written consent.

Privacy Policy
Site Map
Avvo - Rate your Lawyer. Get Free Legal Advice.
We gladly accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express.
Copyright 2023 The Law Offices of Edward Misleh, APC
Web site hosting by All Brevard Web Sites