Since the 1980s, New Jersey courts have held that legal marriage is a prerequisite to bringing a per quod claim. See Childers v. Shannon, 183 N.J. Super. 591 (Law Div. 1982); Leonardis v. Morton ChemicalDiv. of Morton Norwich Products, 184 N.J. Super. 10, 11 (App. Div. 1982); Lemma v. Racing, 2011 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1212 (App. Div. 2011). However, due to the dated policy considerations underlying these decisions, there is a reasonable basis to argue that unmarried cohabitants, and other individuals with intimate familial relationships, should have standing to assert a per quod claim.