Marriage Vs. Cohabitation
- There are specific legal distinctions between cohabitation and marriage. The first, according to research by Brien, Lillard and Stern published in the International Economic Review in 1996, is low-cost separation for couples. Many couples feel that cohabitation provides economic benefits, such as shared living costs, without the risk of an expensive legal separation if matters in the relationship go wrong. Marriage, however, is legally binding and requires dissolution if the partners determine that they are not happy together.
- Another important distinction between cohabitation and marriage is tax status. Married couples are entitled to file taxes together with joint incomes. Couples that cohabit must still file as single taxpayers do, and are not required to file as married.
- According to research conducted by The National Marriage Project in 1999, cohabitation may lead to higher risk for divorce; couples who live together and eventually marry have 46 percent higher risk of divorce than those who do not cohabit before marriage. However, despite such statistics, surveys from the University of Michigan show that nearly 60 percent of high-school seniors agree with the statement, "It is usually a good idea for a couple to live together before getting married in order to find out whether they really get along," revealing that many people believe that living together before marriage is a good way to create stronger intimacy.
- In "The Case for Marriage," Waite and Gallagher reveal that married people are emotionally happier and have better sex lives than couples who cohabit. Though cohabiting couples report having sex as often as married couples, married people are more likely to say they enjoy it. Married people are also less likely to suffer from depression than those that are unmarried or cohabiting. However, according to Dr. Yvonne Fulbright of Fox News, these benefits only apply to happily married couples; people in unhappy marriages are actually more likely to be "psychologically distressed" than people who are single or living together.
