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Marriage and cohabitation have different advantages and disadvantages. Cohabitation is easier to end, while marriage is legally binding and offers more rights and responsibilities. Marriage also limits freedom and allows for legal action against adultery. Spouses have decision-making power, while cohabiting partners may not have legal rights in medical situations.
Marriage and cohabitation are two types of intimate arrangements and each has its pros and cons. Cohabitation is the act of living together without a legally recognized union. This allows individuals to separate with less difficulty than if they were married. A marriage is a legally binding agreement that grants each partner a wider range of rights and responsibilities. Ending this type of relationship requires a legal process.
Although people commonly insist that a piece of paper, referring to the marriage license, is the only difference between marriage and cohabitation, this is far from the case. A marriage license is a document that drastically alters a relationship. One of the main ways to do this is to preserve the relationship even if one or both partners leave. Marriages don’t dissolve simply because individuals don’t like the way things are going and want to put their energies elsewhere. Instead, a couple must divorce and ask a court to end their relationship.
When two people live together, they live by an agreement which can be based on a number of factors, such as emotions or financial convenience, but generally there is no legal liability binding them to each other. If the moment comes when the situation no longer seems right, both parties can immediately sever their ties. In most jurisdictions, there is no special body of law governing how to divide the property of cohabitants or how to care for the less financially able partner after separation. With married partners, however, these are important considerations.
Another big difference between marriage and cohabitation is freedom. When people get married, they take vows, which are legal vows and usually sanctioned by religion. A married person is not free to have intimate relationships with other people. In addition to the threat of divorce and the financial consequences it can have for the offender, in many jurisdictions it is also possible for one spouse to sue another for adultery. When people coexist, giving up the freedom to intimately fraternize with others is a choice, and if one person does otherwise, they pose no legal threat.
Marriage and cohabitation also differ in decision-making. Spouses belong to each other and if there is a life and death decision to be made and one person is unable to do so, their partner will be called upon to act on their behalf. When individuals cohabit, they generally don’t get the right or responsibility to make decisions for their partners, no matter how long they are together. If a person becomes seriously ill and cannot make medical decisions on their own, a legal family member is usually consulted. Furthermore, cohabiting partners may not even have the right to be informed about the details of their partner’s condition.
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