Marriage vs. Cohabitation

Marriage may not be the right choice for everyone. Some couples choose to live together without the benefit of a legal union. There are a variety of reasons that sway some couples to decide between marriage and cohabitation. The legal differences between marriage and cohabitation relationships are summarized below.

MARRIAGE	COHABITATION (Living Together)
Marriage requirements vary state to state but generally include the following-- a license, a waiting period, blood tests, minimum ages, a ceremony officiated by a clergyperson or an officer of the court, and witnesses.	The requirements of cohabitation are minimal. You can enter into a cohabitation at any time, by anybody of any age and any gender.
To end a marriage one must do so by a formal, legal divorce or annulment process that can be costly, time consuming, complicated, and emotionally draining.	The process of ending a cohabitation is generally much simpler than a divorce and is based on an informal agreement of the parties. Often, however, the emotional costs are just as difficult or similar to those experienced at the end of a marriage.
During the divorce, the spouses must divide their property by legally prescribed methods.	At the end of a cohabitation relationship, the parties can usually agree to divide property however they decide. However, the absence of legal guidelines may create even more conflict as to who gets what.
Upon separation, the higher-wage-earning spouse may have the responsibility to provide financial support for the other spouse.	Couples who live together and then split up usually do not incur the obligation to support each other after the break-up, unless they have entered into a contract providing otherwise. While this may seem a benefit to the supporting partner, a partner who has become used to being supported may face unexpected financial hardship after the split.
In the circumstance that one spouse becomes ill or incompetent, the other spouse generally has the right to make decisions on behalf of the ill spouse, regarding issues including health care and finances.	Regardless of how close the bond or how long the cohabitant relationship has existed, each of the parties may need to defer to immediate family members when it comes to making decisions for an ill or incompetent unmarried partner, unless a general power of attorney or health care power of attorney give that authority to the cohabitating partner.
When one spouse dies, the other spouse has the legal right to inherit a portion of the deceased spouse’s estate.	When one cohabitant dies, his or her property will pass to whomever is named in the will or, if there is no will, to family members according to state laws. The surviving partner has no claim to the estate unless he or she was named in the deceased partner’s will.
Children born during the course of the marriage are presumed to be the offspring of the husband and wife.	Until or unless the father of a child born to unmarried cohabitants has established his paternity through blood tests and legal action, there is no legal presumption of paternity.
Children born to married couples must be financially supported throughout the marriage.	The male in a cohabitating partnership does not incur an immediate legal obligation to support children born during the cohabitation, but may do so voluntarily (and MUST do so if paternity is recognized).
Typically, after separation or divorce, the non-custodial parent is legally obligated to help financially support the children of the marriage. Contact Bradshaw & Associates for more information.	Once a cohabitating relationship ends, the non-custodial parent has the same legal obligation to support his or her children as legally separated or divorced parents, if parentage has been established.