Cohabitation : current legal solutions

This paper considers the arguments that have been advanced to justify giving cohabitants the same rights as married couples, and suggests a number of reasons for caution: first, the fact that these are uncharted waters, given the relative novelty of cohabitation as a family form; secondly, the evidence that suggests that a ‘functional’ approach may actually justify rules privileging marriage; and, thirdly, the indications that the law may indeed play a role in individual decisions. It then goes on to review recent developments in the areas of contract, property and family law and to re-evaluate their potential to meet the needs of cohabiting couples, viewed in the light of the demographic background. It concludes by advocating incremental change combined with a more wide-ranging review of the legal treatment of marriage and cohabitation