Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Monitary responsibility from a cohabitational relationship

Legally she will only need to show that the purchases benefitted both of them to get an order for him to reimburse her for his share.

Morally he should offer to pay his expenses and fair share. After all he got free sex without any strings. If he had to pay for the sex it would have been a lot more.

I wonder why you are fighting this battle for your adult son? Why doesn't he take care of this himself? Remind him of that moral thing. If either one had the sense god gave a goose they would not pretend to be adults and/or married until they were both ready for the responsibility.

Re: Monitary responsibility from a cohabitational relationship

Mr. Lunden is right about one thing. A court would ask for the bills from the credit cards an ask which party was in possession of which items and those parties would then be responsible for those bills. However, as far as being morally responsible for half is ridiculous. This woman was not some whore who should be compensated for the sex she had with your son. They are both consenting adults who chose to live together. I do not think that Mr. Lungren should let his personal views influence his professional advice. Whether he thinks that what your son did was immoral or not doesn't matter and the court would not take that into consideration when making its judgment. Anyhow, as far as your son is concerned, I would have him request that his girlfriend send him copies of the credit card statements. He should then go through and itemize what they bought together and who is currently in possession of those items. If he is in possession of any of the items he should offer to reimburse her for those items. This offer should be in writing and accompanied by an agreement to be signed and notarized by both parties so that the agreement is legal and binding. If she refuses to to sign the agreement then she can take it to small claims court. Good luck. I apologize for Mr. Lungren on behalf of my profession.

Sincerely,

John Hayes, Esq.