What Are The Rights Of Cohabiting Couples In The USA?
By Today, we talk about the rights of cohabiting couples.
In the vast land of laws and love, there’s a maze of rules for couples who live together. However, they are not legally married. In the United States, these rules vary a lot from state to state. Imagine sharing your life with someone you love without being married.
Therefore, questions pop up about rights and protections. For example, do you both have the same rights as married couples? And in the mix of it all, there’s the big question: Can same-sex couples get married in every state?
This legal jigsaw puzzle impacts the lives of many couples living together, adding uncertainty to their legal standing. The laws are a patchwork, leaving some couples with lots of rights and others with hardly any.
It’s a complicated story about rights, love, and the law—a story that is still being written. Thus, today in our article we will talk in detail about the legal rights of cohabiting couples.
The rights of cohabiting couples effect couples who aren’t married but share their lives. Many states call it a common-law marriage.
Cohabitation In USA Through Time
Society is more open to couples living together without marrying, but there are important legal considerations. Cohabitation involves unmarried partners, whether they’re opposite-sex or same-sex couples. Before the legalization of same-sex marriages in 2015 by the U.S. Supreme Court, cohabitation was often the choice for such couples.
Moreover, Scholars like Wendy D. Manning, Arland Thornton, and Kathleen Kiernan, have researched cohabitation’s effects on marriage rates and society.
Research indicates that over two-thirds of women aged 15-44 live together before their first marriage. Similar patterns are present in countries like Canada, Australia, Norway, and Sweden.
Studies suggest that cohabiting relationships are less stable. However, fortunately, they are more likely to end than marriages, especially in the short term.
Although many young adults see cohabitation as a normal part of life, married couples outnumber cohabiting ones in places like New York and Washington, D.C.
Additionally, living together can offer emotional and financial support, but it also comes with legal and financial challenges. Therefore, understanding these before moving in with your partner is crucial.
US And UK law On Rights of Cohabiting Couples
In recent years, the number of couples choosing to live together without marriage or civil partnership has surged. Statistics indicate that approximately 22% of couples prefer cohabitation over formalized unions.
UK’s Cohabiting Couples- What Are Their Rights?
In the UK alone, the count of cohabiting couples ballooned from 1.5 million in 1996 to about 3.6 million in 2021. This showed the increasing popularity of this living arrangement.
What Are The Rights Of Cohabiting Couples And Their Legal Protections?
Today, more couples are choosing to live together without getting married. However, the laws that apply to them are quite different from those that apply to married couples. This becomes important when thinking about what happens if the relationship ends or if one partner passes away.
In England and Wales, there’s no legal acknowledgment of being a “common-law spouse”. This is no matter how long you’ve lived together.
Current Legal Gaps In The USA
Unfortunately, when it comes to the rights of cohabiting couples, they don’t get the same legal protections as married ones.
However, states like California have laws calling cohabiting couples “domestic partners,” offering them some similar rights to married couples.
A Pew Research Center survey shows that around 65% of U.S. adults support allowing unmarried couples to make legal agreements. Therefore, through these agreements, they settle on terms for rights like health insurance or inheritance. These rights are quite akin to those married couples have.
So, What Exactly Are The Legal Rights Of Cohabiting Couples?
When people officially register their domestic partnerships, they get rights and privileges married couples have. However, while registered domestic partners get certain benefits similar to married individuals, they’re not exactly the same.
These rights can differ from state to state, but some common ones include the following.
Visitation Rights
In a registered domestic partnership, partners often gain the right to visit each other in hospitals or even prisons. This privilege allows them to provide support and be present during challenging times. Therefore, it is quite similar to what married couples usually have.
Right to Sue for Wrongful Death
Registered domestic partners have the legal standing to file a lawsuit if their partner faces wrongful death. This right empowers them to seek justice and compensation. Therefore, the law entitles them to compensation in case of any unlawful or negligent circumstances leading to their partner’s death.
Sick Leave Benefits
Partners in a domestic partnership can use their sick leave that their employer provided. Therefore, they can utilize these leaves to care for their partner if they’re unwell.
This benefit offers support during health challenges. It also allows partners to take care of each other without jeopardizing their employment.
Insurance Coverage
Within a registered domestic partnership, individuals often gain access to certain insurances provided by their partner. These insurances could cover health, dental, vision, or life insurance. Therefore, this ensures that both partners receive necessary coverage and financial protection.
Legal Procedures for Ending a Domestic Partnership
Terminating a domestic partnership might require a formal legal process, often resembling a divorce. This process could involve handling matters like child support or dividing property that they bought during the partnership. Therefore, financial support is among the common rights of cohabiting couples.
Each of these rights may vary depending on the specific laws of the state where the domestic partnership is registered. Therefore, they provide varying degrees of legal protection and entitlements to the cohabiting partners.
What Are Property Rights Of Cohabiting Couples?
Many couples choose to live together without getting married. Sometimes, they gather a lot of things together during this time. If they split up, dealing with these things legally can be tricky.
Some states say that if a couple lives together like they’re married, they’re considered married by law. But not all states agree on this. For example, New York doesn’t recognize this type of marriage.
When a married couple gets things together during their marriage, it’s called ‘marital property.’ This includes things like houses, cars, money in the bank, and even investments. Thus, if they divorce, they share these things based on certain rules.
But for couples who live together without being married, it’s different. They don’t have the same rights as married couples about things they get together. Therefore, anything they buy during their time together belongs to each person separately, even if they bought it together. So, if they split, each person keeps what’s in their name.
To Conclude
Cohabiting couples are partners who live together without being married. They don’t get the same legal benefits as married couples, so they’re not legally responsible for each other if they split. This might affect their rights to things like property, health insurance, child support, or inheritance. Therefore, these may not be the same as those of married couples.
Read Also:
