More Than Marriage Forming Families after Marriage Equality

"We are all too in love with the idea of marriage. What if, asks John Culhane in this provocative new book, marriage were not the ceiling but the floor; not the single North Star of every committed relationship, but one of an array of legal arrangements that could better serve families, allocate benefits, and protect and honor love? Culhane here urges us to think more capaciously about love and how to protect and foster it for more of us, more deeply, going forward."—Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor at Slate and host of the podcast Amicus

"Culhane has written an incredibly important book on how to recognize the diversity of relationships in today's culture. The book provides history, interviews, and useful context—and is engaging and fun to read."—Naomi Cahn, coauthor of Fair Shake: Women and the Fight to Build a Just Economy

"In this ambitious and engaging book, Culhane shows that marriage law simultaneously does too much and too little: it unnecessarily rewards people who marry, while letting down the millions of Americans in meaningful, committed nonmarital relationships. Through a masterful synthesis of history, legal analysis, and narrative, he makes sense of the proliferation of alternatives to marriage, diagnoses their shortcomings, and proposes solutions to bring us closer to true marriage—and nonmarriage—equality."—Kaiponanea Matsumura, Professor and William M. Rains Fellow, Loyola Law School

Introduces an expansive vision of the family and a brilliant legal arrangement that will protect the lives of millions of adults.

Today, about half of all adults are unmarried. Many of those are in significant relationships—some intimate, others based in friendship, finances, or family ties—but the law offers them few protections. Amid the growing recognition that modern families take all shapes, More Than Marriage presents a refreshing vision for the future.

With this book, noted family-law expert John G. Culhane takes us on a guided tour of how the march toward marriage equality spun off a number of other legal statuses, and explores how the law has expanded and where it falls short. This lively living history is grounded in relatable, in-depth interviews that give voice to the millions of Americans building family structures outside the protections of marriage—whether by choice, necessity, or exclusion. Culhane proposes an updated legal status that offers flexible and portable benefits for a diverse range of commitments and needs. As More Than Marriage shows, this "choose your own adventure" structure more accurately reflects, and more equitably protects, the many kinds of families we choose to build.