Josef Alkatout comments in the *Tribune de Genève* on Swiss Supreme Court ruling 5A_127/2023, which redefines the term “cohabitation” or “common-law marriage” with a new partner following a divorce.
In this ruling, the Supreme Court tightened the criteria for classifying a cohabitation as “qualified,” which could result in the termination of alimony payments from the previous spouse. Specifically, financial independence and the absence of mutual economic support between the new partners led to the rejection of the former husband’s request to terminate alimony payments to his ex-wife, even though she shared household expenses equally with her new partner.
Thus, the court appears to favor the traditional definition of marriage as a financial support model, which makes it particularly difficult to have a cohabitation relationship recognized as “qualified.”
