Women's rights after a domestic partnership

[blackcastedwoma]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

A Pennsylvania woman has been living for 10 years with a man in a home that is in his name only.

There is no written agreement between them, but she has paid a monthly amount (cash) towards the mortgage payment, plus contributed towards utilities and household expenses consistently for the full 10 years.

Their personal relationship over the last 10 years has publicly, to family and friends alike, been as husband and wife. They share a bed, take vacations together, spend holidays together, give gifts to each other's family, receive gifts from both families in return, etc.

The man is currently involved in a relationship with another woman, who is pushing him to throw out the live-in.

What are the rights of the woman who is living in the house? Would the courts recognize her as a domestic partner? Would she be able to request financial support from the man should she need to move out of the house?

If she is NOT recognized as a domestic partner, would her legal standing then be a lessor/lessee relationship where she is a boarder in his house paying a monthly rent? If THAT is the case, should he have been reporting her monthly payments as rental income on his tax returns?

In addition, the "other woman" has been harassing the live-in by calling at all hours of the night, showing up at the house unannounced, pressuring the man to let her stay in the house overnight, confronting the live-in, and generally making her feel threatened.

Does the live-in have any legal recourse, such as a restraining order, against the other woman to stop the harassment?

[Ohiogal]

None. She was a girlfriend. If she wanted the benefits of marriage she should have gotten married.

[nextwife]

And this has NOTHING to do with gender. The same outcome would have occurred if she had been the homeowner, and her STBX BF had moved into HER home and shared expenses of the home. As the BF would have been contributing toward putting a roof over their own head, there is nothing wrong or improper for the homeowner to accept such payments. After all, one would normally pay to live in whatever home they have. A BF is not a spouse and a GF is not a spouse. Neither is entitled to the legal proptections of a marriage if they did not enter into a marriage.

The good news is that she can move on without any responsibility for any debts HE may have incurred during their cohabitation. And, he can't ask for any portion of her 401K or IRAs.