NJ court divides domestic partnership assets equitably
365Gay.com is reporting (1.31.2008) that a NJ court has ordered the equitable distribution of assets in the breakup of a domestic partnership. Jim Walsh also has this report on the Courier Post Online (1.31.2008). This summary was forwarded to us (unfortunately we don’t have the citation or link):
JUDGE APPLIES DIVORCE RULES TO DOMESTIC PARTNERS
Some 5,000 gay and lesbian couples in New Jersey have registered as domestic partners, and many have yet to form a civil union under more recent state law. So what happens to their property if they decide to break up? This week Gloucester County Judge John Tomasello ruled in Miken v. Hind - believed the first decision of its kind - that there should be an equitable distribution of assets in the same way assets would be distributed in the divorce of a married couple. Furthermore, recognizing the special circumstances of gay couples who often had years-long committed relationships before being permitted to legally formalize them, Tomasello dated the period of equitable distribution to the formation of the couple in 1999 rather than the establishment of the domestic partnership soon after the enabling law came into effect in 2004. The defendant has already vowed to appeal. 1-31-08
One Comment
Judge Tomasello DID NOT award equitable distribution, he only applied equity principles. Equitable distribution is a statute with specific steps that must be applied. Equitable distribution was NOT awarded. To be continued….