Also known as: cohabitants
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An acronym for a person of the opposite sex sharing living quarters with another unmarried individual.
Patrick Phan and Phoebe Park lived together for three years after both reached majority. Patrick performed household maintenance and managed the couple's finances while Phoebe contributed her salary to joint expenses. When they separated, Patrick sued to enforce their oral understanding that each would share ownership of assets acquired during the relationship. The court treated the parties as POSSLQ cohabitants under the statute.
Preston Pratt and Parker Phillips cohabited for five years and pooled resources to purchase a home. After the relationship ended, Parker claimed an equitable share based on her domestic services and financial contributions. The court examined whether their conduct created enforceable expectations arising from contributions to the relationship while the parties qualified as POSSLQ.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Paige Porter and Pavel Petrov applied to rent an apartment together. The landlord refused because the couple was unmarried. Paige filed a complaint alleging that the refusal constituted discrimination on the basis of marital status under state fair housing law because the applicants met the POSSLQ definition.
Patrick Phan and Phoebe Park operated a joint enterprise during their cohabitation. Phoebe provided unpaid bookkeeping and customer service that increased the value of the business. After separation she sought compensation for those contributions under an implied agreement while the parties were POSSLQ.
Preston Pratt and Parker Phillips created preembryos during their relationship. They had executed a written directive concerning disposition upon separation. After the relationship ended, one party sought to enforce the directive against the other's later objection while the couple had been POSSLQ.
Yes. The acronym specifically denotes a person of the opposite sex sharing living quarters. Same-sex cohabitants fall outside the literal definition even though modern statutes often extend similar economic remedies to all unmarried couples.
Supporting sources
POSSLQ status establishes that the individuals are cohabitants. Once that status exists, an agreement concerning contributions to the relationship qualifies as a cohabitants agreement that may be enforced under the uniform act.
Yes. Cooking, cleaning, shopping, and household maintenance performed for the benefit of the other cohabitant or the relationship constitute contributions that may support a contractual or equitable claim.
The claim accrues on the date of the breach. Suit may be filed during cohabitation or after the relationship ends, subject to the applicable contractual limitations period.
…between married persons in divorce or legal separation proceedings, to govern a property division action between unmarried cohabitants who constitute a family. The plaintiff points out that secs. 767.02(l)(h) and 767.255 are part of chapter 767, which is entitled "Actions Affecting the Family,” and that in 1979 the…