Alimony For Pals? 

I must have been the only person who didn’t know that palimony was a real term.  I was (once again) watching American Justice on A&E (you know, if you skim through my journals, I get most of my information from television…but I digress) and they were discussing “palimony” – alimony for pals!  Well, not really pals, but virtually married couples who simply do not have the legal marriage.

The show discussed the introduction of palimony in the 1970s, through a court case involving Lee Marvin and his ex-girlfriend (not wife) Michelle Troila Marvin.  In 1972, two years after the couple had broken up, Lee Marvin had stopped making the payments he’d promised his ex.  He promised her these monthly payments to help her, because they were – at the time of their break-up – still on somewhat amicable terms.  But after two years, Lee Marvin found himself married to his high school sweetheart, Pamela Feeney, who did NOT approve of Marvin sending payments to an ex-girlfriend.

When Michelle found out that he’d stopped payments she was furious.  She said that he’d broken the oral contract in which – she claimed – he’d agreed to send her monthly payments indefinitely.  Michelle had her lawyer – Marvin Mitchelson – send Lee’s lawyer a statement saying that Lee should keep his promise to Michelle, regardless of his marriage to Ms. Feeney.  His statement was rebuffed.  And so began the first ever “palimony” suit.

It took until 1976 for the California Supreme Court to establish palimony as a law.  Essentially, the law gives rights to non-married couples who either lived together or were together in “terms resembling marriage.”

I find the whole thing kind of weird, and a little silly.  I dated a guy in high school once who now owns a big firm in Manhattan.  Can I get half of his checks?  I’m kidding, obviously, but I think some laws should be preserved for marriage, no?  Then again, there are some laws that are deemed “common law” for the same kind of reasons.  I don’t know; once again I’m torn.  I supposed I’d want the same thing if I were Michelle Troila Marvin, but if I were Lee Marvin I’d probably want Michelle to make like the wind.

Anybody else have an opinion?