Statutes Barring Recovery for 'Concubines,' 'Fornicators' Don't Bar Dependency Claims

Year after year, the number of American adults who are cohabitating with an unmarried partner continues to rise. According to the Pew Research Center, some 18 million adults were living with an unmarried partner in 2017— up 29% from the 14 million who cohabited in 2007. But unmarried partners do not enjoy the same legal protections as a domestic partner or spouse, as two women had the misfortune of learning after the untimely deaths of their partners. But though both women ran into challenges that they would not have encountered if they were legally married, the Louisia...