In re Kelly and Moesslang: The court examined the doctrine used to resolve the property distribution when unmarried people separate.
By Laura Morgan, Family Law Consultant
The committed intimate relationship (CIR) doctrine is a judicially created doctrine used to resolve the property distribution issues that arise when unmarried people separate after living in a marital‑like relationship and acquiring what would have been community property had they been married. The equitable doctrine of a committed intimate relationship (CIR) is subject to a three‑year statute of limitations, and, thus, a party must sue to establish that the relationship existed within three years of the end of the relationship.
http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/index.cfm?fa=opinions.showOpinion&filename=292100MAJ
(Ed. Note: See also In re G.W.‑F., No. 66693–2–I (Washington Court of Appeals, Division 1, Sept. 17, 2012), holding that a committed intimate relationship ends when one party expresses an unequivocal intent to end it, and mutual intent to end it is not required.)
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Laura Morgan is a Family Law Consultant. Laura is available for consultation, brief writing and research on family law issues throughout the country. She can be reached through her Web site.
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