More Than Marriage: Forming Families After Marriage Equality

Introduces an expansive vision of the family and a brilliant legal arrangement that will protect the lives of millions of adults.

Today, about half of all adults are unmarried. Many of those are in significant relationships--some intimate, others based in friendship, finances, or family ties--but the law offers them few protections. Amid the growing recognition that modern families take all shapes, More Than Marriage presents a refreshing vision for the future.

With this book, noted family-law expert John G. Culhane takes us on a guided tour of how the march toward marriage equality spun off a number of other legal statuses, and explores how the law has expanded and where it falls short. This lively living history is grounded in relatable, in-depth interviews that give voice to the millions of Americans building family structures outside the protections of marriage--whether by choice, necessity, or exclusion. Culhane proposes an updated legal status that offers flexible and portable benefits for a diverse range of commitments and needs. As More Than Marriage shows, this "choose your own adventure" structure more accurately reflects, and more equitably protects, the many kinds of families we choose to build.

ISBN-13: 9780520391659

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: University of California Press

Publication Date: 05-02-2023

Pages: 232

Product Dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

John G. Culhane is Professor of Law and Codirector of the Family Health Law & Policy Institute at Delaware Law School (Widener University). He is a frequent contributor to Slate and Politico and is the author of casebooks in the areas of both family law and torts, as well as Same-Sex Legal Kit for Dummies.

Table of Contents

List of Tables
Preface

Introduction: Marriage Equality—an Important but Limited Victory 
1. The Dawn of the Domestic Partnership, or "We Bored Them to Death"
2. Civil Unions: Not Marriage, but an Incredible Simulation!
3. The Designated Beneficiary Agreement Act: Colorado's Successful Experiment
4. What Is Marriage, Anyway? (And What Isn't Marriage?)
5. Matching Relationship Law to Reality 

Notes 
References
Index Show More