New York Family Law Blog
It was once a statistical fact that living together before marriage was more likely to result in divorce. Still, it is more common than ever for couples to live together without being married. Have matters changed?
The times have certainly changed. In the late 70s, about one-third of people lived together before getting married. Most of these were people who lived less traditional lives, which made them more prone to divorce, a sociologist said to a New York Family Lawyer. The stigma against what was once called “living in sin” has faded, though some socially religious groups still frown upon it. Now, two-thirds of American marriages start as cohabitation.
Motivations may have also changed. Free love was a motivation in the 70s. Today, it may be financial reasons that prompt a couple to live together. “What really stood out was the change in unemployment characteristics,” a family demographer for the U.S. Census told a New York Family Lawyer. In 2008, 59 percent of cohabitating couples said both partners were employed. It was only 49 percent just two years later.
Many of the currently cohabitating couples may not even get married, especially if they moved in together for economic reasons. New York Family Lawyers have noted lower income couples are less likely to get married to each other in the end. Even when they do get married, they are more likely to get divorced. Financial reasons can be even more important than romantic reasons. In the Great Depression, when very few people would even consider cohabitation, marriage and divorce rates dropped.
Families change over time and so does family law, which is why someone knowledgeable, like a New York Family Lawyer, is so important. You need someone with skill in the law to represent your family, and there is no one better for that than a New York Family Lawyer.
The firm of Stephen Bilkis & Associates with convenient locations thorughout the Metropolitan Area, including servicing Inwood, N.Y., can be of invaluable assistance to you if you find yourself a party to a case. Facing the Court without professional representation could lead to disastrous results.