1. i have yet to hear of any legal issues in poly groups that cannot
be resolved by careful contracting; and
Unfortunately, in our organization, we hear of them all the
time. These things happened to people close to me: purchase of a
house for his poly family was challenged by the local Homeowner's
Association, on the (erroneous) grounds that their occupancy violated
the deed covenants. adding a kitchen for an incoming formerly-LD
lover was blocked by the town building codes. My own triad could not
title or register in all three names a car we all three paid for,
because the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will not let us.
But the most significant problem that couldn't be contracted around
is custody/visitation. I don't know of any jurisdiction where the
court's perceived "best interests of the child" doesn't trump any
agreement parties may have had. For example, say my partners and I
signed an agreement that we are all three equal parents of our twins
and entitled to shared custody in the event any of us
separated. Then, say I broke up with my partners and they were mad
at me and disinclined to honor the agreement. I take them to court
to enforce the agreement . . . and the court says, "The best
interests of these children require that they have only two parents,
and I have no jurisdiction in any case to award visitation rights or
shared custody to an unrelated party."