Uniform Cohabitants’ Economic Remedies ActUniform Cohabitants’ Economic Remedies Act

The Uniform Law Commission (ULC) adopted the Uniform Cohabitants’ Economic Remedies Act (UCERA) in July 2021 to address the increasingly frequent issue of unmarried cohabitants who end their relationship but own property together or who’ve made promises to one another. Married individuals have the benefit of elaborate procedures to adjudicate their property rights. Not so regarding unmarried cohabitants even though the number of unmarried cohabitants in the United States is substantial and growing. The Prefatory Note to UCERA cites these statistics:

UCERA responds to the increase in the number of nonmarital cohabitants in the United States over the past half-century. The Census first began including ‘Unmarried Partner’ as a possible relat...