Editing De facto (section)

==Marriage and domestic partnerships==
{{Globalize section |date=October 2022}}

=== <span class="anchor" id="Relationships"></span> Relationships===
A [[domestic partner]] outside [[marriage]] is referred to as a de facto husband or wife by some authorities.<ref>[[Lenore E. Walker|Walker Lenore E.]] "Battered Woman Syndrome. Empirical Findings." ''Violence and Exploitation Against Women and Girls'', November 2006, p. 142.</ref>

====In Australia and New Zealand====
In [[Australian law]], a de facto relationship is a legally recognized, committed relationship of a couple living together (opposite-sex or same-sex).<ref>{{cite news|title=Getting divorced without marriage: Your rights and responsibilities when a de facto relationship ends |first1=Carol |last1=Rääbus |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-22/de-facto-myths-and-tips-after-a-split/8641622|access-date=16 September 2017|work=ABC News|date=22 June 2017|language=en-AU|archive-date=8 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908233244/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-22/de-facto-myths-and-tips-after-a-split/8641622|url-status=live}}</ref> ''De facto'' unions are defined in the federal [[Family Law Act 1975]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s4aa.html|title=Family Law Act 1975 – Sect 4AA De facto relationships |work=Australasian Legal Information Institute |access-date=2017-09-16|archive-date=2016-04-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412215824/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s4aa.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ''De facto'' relationships provide couples who are living together on a genuine domestic basis with many of the same rights and benefits as married couples. Two people can become a de facto couple by entering into a registered relationship (i.e.: civil union or domestic partnership) or by being assessed as such by the [[Family Court of Australia|Family Court]] or [[Federal Circuit Court of Australia|Federal Circuit Court]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.familycourt.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/fcoaweb/family-law-matters/separation-and-divorce/defacto-relationships/|title=De facto Relationships|work=Family Court of Australia|access-date=2017-09-16|archive-date=2018-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922134827/http://familycourt.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/fcoaweb/family-law-matters/separation-and-divorce/defacto-relationships/|url-status=live}}</ref> Couples who are living together are generally recognised as a de facto union and thus able to claim many of the rights and benefits of a married couple, even if they have not registered or officially documented their relationship,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lawsociety.com.au/community/publicationsandfaqs/DefactoRelationships/index.htm|title=De facto Relationships|work=The Law Society of New South Wales|access-date=2017-09-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210044537/https://www.lawsociety.com.au/community/publicationsandfaqs/DefactoRelationships/index.htm|archive-date=2017-02-10|url-status=dead}}</ref> although this may vary by state. It has been noted that it is harder to prove de facto relationship status, particularly in the case of the death of one of the partners.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Elphick|first1=Liam|title=Do same-sex couples really have the same rights as married couples?|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sexuality/agenda/article/2017/09/14/do-same-sex-couples-really-have-same-rights-married-couples|access-date=15 September 2017|work=SBS News|language=en|archive-date=15 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915203833/http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sexuality/agenda/article/2017/09/14/do-same-sex-couples-really-have-same-rights-married-couples|url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2014, an Australian federal court judge ruled that a heterosexual couple who had a child and lived together for 13 years were not in a de facto relationship and thus the court had no jurisdiction to divide up their property under family law following a request for separation. In his ruling, the judge stated "de facto relationship(s) may be described as 'marriage like' but it is not a marriage and has significant differences socially, financially and emotionally."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/de-facto-couples-have-differences-to-married-counterparts-judge-says/story-e6frg97x-1226893110835|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504210414/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/de-facto-couples-have-differences-to-married-counterparts-judge-says/story-e6frg97x-1226893110835|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 May 2014|title=De facto couples have differences to married counterparts, judge says|work=[[The Australian]]|date=23 April 2014}}</ref>

The above sense of de facto is related to the relationship between common law traditions and formal (statutory, regulatory, civil) law, and [[common-law marriage]]s. Common law norms for settling disputes in practical situations, often worked out over many generations to establishing [[precedent]], are a core element informing decision making in [[legal system]]s around the world. Because its early forms originated in [[England in the Middle Ages]], this is particularly true in Anglo-American legal traditions and in former colonies of the [[British Empire]], while also playing a role in some countries that have mixed systems with significant admixtures of civil law.

=====Relationships not recognised outside Australia=====
{{Further |Family Court of Australia#Jurisdiction}}

Due to [[Federalism in Australia|Australian federalism]], de facto partnerships can only be legally recognised whilst the couple lives within a state in Australia. This is because the power to legislate on de facto matters relies on referrals by States to the Commonwealth in accordance with [[Section 51(xxxvii) of the Australian Constitution]], where it states the new federal law can only be applied back within a state.<ref>{{cite web|date=Feb 2003|url=http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/aboutct/judges_papers/speeches_frenchj6.rtf|title=The Referral of State Powers Cooperative Federalism lives?|work=Western Australia Law Review|first=Justice|last=French|access-date=2012-02-17|archive-date=2012-02-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227132215/http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/aboutct/judges_papers/speeches_frenchj6.rtf|url-status=live}}.</ref><ref>''Thomas'' (2007) 233 CLR 307, [208] (Kirby J).</ref> There must be a nexus between the de facto relationship itself and the Australian state.<ref>See sections [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s90rd.html 90RG] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416210750/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s90rd.html |date=2012-04-16 }}, [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s90sd.html 90SD] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416132956/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s90sd.html |date=2012-04-16 }} and [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s90sk.html 90SK] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416081424/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s90sk.html |date=2012-04-16 }}, section [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s90ra.html 90RA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416230922/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s90ra.html |date=2012-04-16 }}, of the [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/ Family Law Act] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309235045/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au//legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/ |date=2012-03-09 }}.</ref>

If an Australian de facto couple moves out of a state, they do not take the state with them and the new federal law is tied to the territorial limits of a state. The legal status and rights and obligations of the de facto or unmarried couple would then be recognised by the laws of the country where they are ordinarily resident.

This is unlike marriage and "matrimonial causes" which are recognised by sections 51(xxi) and (xxii) of the [[Constitution of Australia]]<ref>[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s51.html Section 51] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411044012/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s51.html |date=2009-04-11 }}, [[Australian Constitution]]</ref> and internationally by [[marriage law]] and conventions, [[International matrimonial law|Hague Convention on Marriages]] (1978).<ref name="Hague Convention">{{Cite web |url=http://www.legallanguage.com/resources/treaties/hague/1978-march-14th-convention-2 |title=Hague Convention on Marriages 1978 |access-date=2012-02-17 |archive-date=2012-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220134603/http://www.legallanguage.com/resources/treaties/hague/1978-march-14th-convention-2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Non-marital relationship contract===
A de facto relationship is comparable to non-marital relationship contracts (sometimes called "palimony agreements") and certain limited forms of domestic partnership, which are found in many jurisdictions throughout the world.

A de facto Relationship is not comparable to [[common-law marriage]], which is a fully legal marriage that has merely been contracted in an irregular way (including by habit and repute). Only nine U.S. states and the District of Columbia still permit common-law marriage; but common law marriages are otherwise valid and recognised by and in all jurisdictions whose rules of comity mandate the recognition of any marriage that was legally formed in the jurisdiction where it was contracted.

===Family law – custody===
''De facto'' joint custody is comparable to the joint legal decision-making authority a married couple has over their child(ren) in many jurisdictions (Canada as an example). Upon separation, each parent maintains de facto joint custody, until such time a court order awards custody, either sole or joint.