Law Commons^™

Compulsory Conjugality, Erez Aloni

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What happens when the state changes the default rules that govern financial obligations between unmarried partners from opt in to opt out? Most states have an opt-in rule: unmarried partners do not take on financial obligations of one another unless they agree to do so with a contract. Nevertheless, advocates argue that an opt-out system puts the burden in the right place: unmarried couples who want to avoid default obligations should bear the burden of making contracts. A scholarly debate over the opt-in/opt-out model has raged for twenty years, but the issue is now coming to a head. Yet no …