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Court recognizes same-sex marriage as "long term"

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New Hampshire only began allowing same-sex marriages in 2010, but the state Supreme Court has ruled that lower courts should consider cohabitation prior to that year when dividing property in a same-sex divorce.

The court issued the ruling August 19.  In that case two women, Coralee Beal and Deborah Munson, had cohabitated since 1993.  They entered into a civil union in 2008, which was converted to a marriage in 2011.  Munson filed for divorce in 2012.

The lower court ruled that Beal and Munson had only been in a short-term marriage, which meant the division of property did not have to be equal.  Beal was awarded roughly 12% of marital property and $500 per month in alimony for five years.

Beal appealed that ruling, arguing that the court should have considered the couple's long-term cohabitation prior to New Hampshire's same-sex marriage law.

Munson's lawyers countered that neighboring states authorized same-sex marriage before New Hampshire, so if the couple had wanted to get married earlier, they could have.  The marriage was intentionally short-term.

The state Supreme Court agreed with Beal, noting that New Hampshire's divorce laws allow courts to consider long-term cohabitation prior to marriage, whether or not the couple is same-sex.  That means the lower courts must reconsider the relationship between Beal and Munson as long-term, which requires equal division of property.

Do you have an opinion on considering pre-marital cohabitation in a divorce?  Share your thoughts in the comments.

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