What is a Marvin Agreement in California?

A Marvin agreement, also known as a “nonmarital cohabitation agreement” is a written contract between unmarried couples who live together and wish to establish their rights and obligations regarding their relationship, property, and financial matters.

A Marvin/nonmarital cohabitation agreement is an express written contract made between two nonmarried cohabitants/partners regarding property rights during a romantic relationship.

Generally, unmarried partners living together can enter a variety of written contracts, including but not limited to pooling their earnings to share property equally, holding property as joint tenants or tenants in common, or keeping their earnings and property separate. (Marvin v. Marvin (1976) 18 Cal.3d 660, 674; Hill v. Westbrook’s Estate (1950) 95 Cal.App.2d 599; Della Zoppa v. Della Zoppa (2001) 86 Cal.App.4th 1144.)

Without a written contract, if established, an oral agreement or an implied-in-fact agreement between unmarried couples who live together may give rise to a civil lawsuit and claim by one cohabitating person against the other for property rights to a romantic partner similar to that of a married individual. As such, a Marvin/nonmarital cohabitation implied-in-fact or oral agreement claims work similarly to a breach of contract claim but is ultimately based on evidence and equity.

In order to prevail on a Marvin/nonmarital cohabitation oral agreement claim, a party must prove that an oral or implied-in-fact agreement existed between nonromantic partners to treat the property as theirs together.