WASHINGTON CASE TESTS PROPERTY DIVISION RIGHTS OF SAME-SEX COUPLES: From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A woman in a lengthy lesbian relationship is suing her estranged lover to divide assets they shared or accrued while living together.

The trial started Tuesday before retired Superior Court Judge Harold Clarke II and is based on a court ruling last year that gay couples can be treated like married couples when they split up. ...

The state Court of Appeals ruled last year that the legal doctrine on "meretricious"--marriage-like--relationships applies to same-sex couples, even though they can't legally wed in Washington.

The state Supreme Court had laid out several criteria for determining whether property acquired by unmarried couples should be divided as though they were married. One of the criteria was the couple's intent to assume marital roles that are legally denied to gays.

Day claims in court documents that she took on the role of "wife" when she moved into Kelsh's home in mid-1990.

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posted by Eve at 6:39 PM | Link |

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