Unjust Enrichment and De Facto Relationships
![handle is hein.journals/auck6 and id is 522 raw text is: Unjust Enrichment and De Facto Relationships
INTRODUCTION
In the not too distant past, it was anomalous to talk of rights arising out of de facto
marriages. It was generally thought that by choosing not to formalise theirrelationship,
couples who were married de facto had chosen to distance themselves from any
possible role the law could play in their relationship or its future dissolution.
The issues which will be addressed in this article arise out of two important facts.
The first is that de facto marriage has become more socially acceptable, and that the
stigma of... 'living in sin' appears to have faded, if not disappeared entirely. ' The
second is the present unwillingness of the legislature in New Zealand to reflect this
change in attitudes. When the Matrimonial Property Bill was introduced into
Parliament in October 1975, clause 49 provided for its extension to de facto
marriages where the court was satisfied that the parties have lived together as
husband and wife for a period of not less than two years preceding the date of
application.2 This clause was removed before the Bill was signed into law.
The result of the absence of any relevant legislation is to leave common law and
equity as the only sources of property rights for de facto partners.'
LLB(Hons)
Harvey, The Property Rights of De Facto Partners: Some Proposals for Legislative Reform [1989]
NZLJ 167.
2 See Angelo and Atkin, The Matrimonial Property Bill 1975 - Some Further Thoughts [1976]
NZLJ 424,427.
On the subject of statutory reform, see Angelo and Atkin, ibid; Harvey, supra at note 1; Report ofthe
Working Group on Matrimonial Property and Family Protection (October 1988). Interestingly,
before most of the cases which will be discussed in this paper had been decided, Angelo and Atldn
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Unjust Enrichment and De Facto Relationships
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