A Uniform Domestic Partnership Act: Marrying Business Partnership and Family Law

73 Pages Posted: 11 Sep 2006

See all articles by Jennifer Ann Drobac

Jennifer Ann Drobac

Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law

Antony Page

Florida International University (FIU) - College of Law

Abstract

For decades, Americans have argued about who may marry and what marriage actually means in legal, religious, and philosophical terms. For almost as long, two problems - the rising divorce rate and the poverty of some "divorced" children and their custodians - have fed concerns about the viability of marriage as an institution that promotes domestic stability and economic security. This Article explores the notion that domestic partnership based upon business partnership law would better serve more couples, their families, and society as a whole. It proposes a Uniform Domestic Partnership Act, loosely modeled after the UPA, as a substitute for marriage and recommends that marriage continue, without legal significance, under the exclusive control of religious institutions. By demonstrating that modern couples expect civil marriage to provide something different than couples did historically and by adapting business partnership law approaches to areas such as fiduciary duty, agency and transaction costs, and limited liability, this Article proposes a legal structure for domestic enterprises. Actually, it offers four new solutions: the Filial, the Enduring, the Caregiving, and the Provisional Domestic Partnerships.

Keywords: Domestic Partnership, Marriage, Business Partnership

Suggested Citation

Drobac, Jennifer Ann and Page, Antony, A Uniform Domestic Partnership Act: Marrying Business Partnership and Family Law. Georgia Law Review, 2007, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=929269

Jennifer Ann Drobac (Contact Author)

Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law ( email )

530 West New York Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202
United States
317-278-4777 (Phone)
317-278-7563 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.indylaw.indiana.edu/people/profile.cfm?EmpNum=41

Antony Page

Florida International University (FIU) - College of Law ( email )

11200 SW 8th St.
RDB Hall 1097
Miami, FL 33199
United States

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