Palimony agreements are entered into between two parties who are not married, wherein one party promises to financially support the other party during his/her lifetime. Most palimony agreements are oral. On January 18, 2010, there was an amendment enacted to the Statute of Frauds which required palimony agreements to be in writing. The question that arose thereafter was whether oral palimony agreements entered into prior to January 18, 2010 were enforceable, even if one of the parties sought enforcement after January 18, 2010.
The Supreme Court of New Jersey, in Maeker v. Ross, determined that oral palimony agreements entered into prior to January 18, 2010 may be enforceable, despite the amendment to a law requiring that palimony agreements must be in writing.
In October, 2014, one month after the Supreme Court’s decision in Maeker, the New Jersey Senate introduced a bill to give retroactive effect to the palimony statute requiring a writing. Said law would give the parties one year from the enactment of the statute to put their palimony agreement in writing.
Stay tuned for information regarding this bill.