Marriage in New York

Marriage as Civil Contract (DRL 10)

• Fearon v. Treanor, 272 N.Y. 268 (1936)  – marriage is more than a mere contract, a relationship is created at the formation of a marriage which the law holds the parties to various obligations and liabilities.
1. So essentially, once the relationship has been formed, the obligations, duties, and rights of the parties may be regulated or restricted by law.
• Hartog v. Hartog, 85 N.Y.2d 537 (1995) – this case stands for the notion that marriage is now viewed as an economic partnership in New York. Each party contributes to the partnership as a spouse, wage earner, homemaker or parent. As a result, courts now have the power at the dissolution of a marriage to divide “fruits of the partnership” which reflects each of the parties’ needs and individual circumstances, absent a contrary agreement. O’Brien v. O’Brien, 66 N.Y.2d 576
• Kleila v. Kleila, 50 N.Y.2d 277 (1980) - When parties have entered into an agreement to change the statutory obligations, such as a post or pre-nuptial agreement, the courts are not granted broad powers to change the terms because it may be contrary to the parties constitutional rights.

Same Sex Marriage (DRL 5 & 10)

• Hernandez v. Robles, 7 N.Y.3d 338 (2006) – in this case same sex couples challenged a licensing bureau which denied same sex couples a marriage license, claiming that the Domestic Relations Law did not permit same sex marriages. The constitutionality of the Domestic Relations Law was challenged as being unconstitutional because it limited same sex marriages. The New York Court of Appeals held that the DRL prohibiting same sex marriage neither violated the constitutional provisions of Equal Protection nor Due Process.