## Facts

- Deborah Munson and Coralee Beal began a committed relationship in 1992 and cohabited in New Hampshire starting in 1993.
- They lived together for roughly 15 years before obtaining formal legal recognition.
- The parties entered a civil union on October 8, 2008.
- The civil union converted to a marriage by operation of law on January 1, 2011.
- During their relationship, the parties combined significant aspects of their financial and personal lives, including mutual support, shared accounts, and commingled finances.
- Munson petitioned for divorce in March 2012, alleging irreconcilable differences.

## Issues

1. Whether RSA 458:16-a permits a trial court to consider premarital cohabitation when equitably dividing marital property.
2. Whether the trial court erred by treating the relationship as short-term without considering the parties’ long premarital cohabitation when fashioning property division and alimony.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court held that a trial court may consider premarital cohabitation as a relevant factor under RSA 458:16-a in equitably distributing marital property.
- The Court vacated the property distribution and alimony award.
- The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion, including reconsideration of both property division and alimony in light of premarital cohabitation.

## Legal Principles

- RSA 458:16-a requires equitable distribution after considering all relevant factors; the listed statutory factors are non-exclusive.
- Premarital cohabitation may be a relevant factor in determining an equitable property division and related financial orders.
- Characterization of a marriage as “short-term” is not a rigid rule and should not be applied in a way that ignores a long, marriage-like economic partnership preceding legal marriage.
- A trial court retains discretion regarding the weight given to premarital cohabitation, but committing to a distribution framework that excludes it as legally irrelevant is error.

## Conclusion

The Supreme Court vacated the trial court’s property and alimony orders because the equitable-distribution statute permits consideration of premarital cohabitation, and the parties’ long cohabitation could materially affect whether the relationship should be treated as short-term for financial relief purposes.


In re Munson & Beal, 169 N.H. 274, 146 A.3d 153 (N.H. 2016)