Today, unmarried couples living together are more common than ever. According to the latest U.S. Census data, more than 7.5 million couples are cohabiting. That's an increase of 13 percent over 2009.
These couples may be happy and may even make some major purchases and investments together. Unfortunately, many unmarried couples will also break up, leading to a host of problems that neither person anticipated going into the relationship.
A Divorce That's Not a Divorce
Couples may move in together thinking it's an easy, low-risk way to see if the relationship will work. Studies show that nearly 60 percent of couples who marry today live together first. However, after several years of purchases and perhaps buying a car or a home together, splitting closely resembles a divorce. In addition to the emotional distress, there is property to divide.
Cohabitation Agreement
It may not be romantic, but a cohabitation agreement is one way to protect both parties' legal interests should a couple that's living together break up. Such an agreement is a contract that spells out issues like child custody, division of property and other legal considerations should the relationship end. Cohabitation agreements are becoming more and more common. According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, there has been a 39 percent increase in the use of cohabitation agreements.
Benefits of a Cohabitation Agreement
A legal agreement not only provides piece of mind to both parties in the event of a break-up, but it also gives the relationship some sense of permanence and commitment. If both parties take the time and money to create such a legal document, then the relationship must be important to both of them.
Married or not, the end of a relationship is never easy. However, discussing beforehand how you would both like to handle property and other legal matters can go a long way to easing the transition.
