Safe to say, we have not heard the last of Blumenthal v. Brewer

Lawyers' Forum

By David N. Schaffer

David N. Schaffer with Schaffer Family Law Ltd. in Naperville has been in private practice for 32 years. Concentrating in domestic and international family law, he is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, as well as the International Academy of Family Lawyers. A former chair of the ISBA Family Law Section Council, he was also a member of the Illinois General Assembly's Family Law Committee that rewrote the entire body of Illinois family law statues. He can be reached at Schaffer@familylawltd.com.

Posted August 25, 2016 12:56 PM

This column discusses the recent Illinois Supreme Court opinion of Blumenthal v. Brewer, which re-examined 37-year-old precedent.In Blumenthal, 2016 IL 118781 (Ill. 2016), the court was called on to consider the continued viability and applicability of Hewitt v. Hewitt, 77 Ill.2d 49, 394 N.E.2d 1204, 31 Ill.Dec. 827 (1979). Hewitt held that Illinois public policy, as set forth in the statutory prohibition against common law marriage, precludes unmarried cohabitants from bringing claims against one another to enforce mutual …

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