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Cohabitation and family law protect a couple that lives together but is not married. There should be equitable treatment for them as well; that is precisely where the role of family law and cohabitation comes into the picture. We are now seeing that society is moving forward in having their views on marriage.
We are also witnessing that cohabitation is also increasing day by day. Thus, such a shift has created a requirement for reforming family law. It is needed because the legal framework that is there for traditional marriages does not have enough space to accommodate the needs of people who are married and yet live together.
We will discuss how cohabitation is influencing family law and how it can have an impact on it as well. In Boston, cohabitation is not uncommon, and there must be lots of them. Thus, protecting their rights is crucial, and for that, you can contact a lawyer. A Boston family law attorney can help you go through the legal framework with ease.
What are the key challenges that unmarried couples face in family law?
It can be difficult to navigate the laws and regulations; there are various challenges that unmarried couples have to face; let us look at some of them:
● Rights associated with property:
There are many jurisdictions where cohabited couples do not experience the same rights as married ones do. For instance, rights associated with property are not the same for cohabited couples as they are for married couples.
When the relationship of an unmarried couple ends, they may not be able to claim any shared properties. It is applicable even when you have contributed to the assets, too.
● Issues associated with inheritance:
If there is a legally recognized union that a cohabited couple has, then things can get tricky for them. They will not be able to experience the same inheritance rights that married couples might have.
It simply means the surviving will not have any right over the inherited property. The surviving partner cannot simply inherit the assets of the deceased partner until or unless there is a legal document supporting their claim.
● Custody of the child:
If there are children involved in the case, there can be various challenges with paternity for the unmarried couple. Securing custody rights is going to become difficult as well.
Let us say the couple is about to get separated; there are going to be added challenges here. If there is a father who is not the biological father of the kid and is a caregiver for them, things can be complicated.
How does family law reform help people address challenges and face realities?
In order to overcome the challenges, there are many jurisdictions that are trying to reform their family law; let us look at some of the reforms:
● Agreements associated with cohabitation:
There are some regions that have legal frameworks that let cohabited couples come up with agreements that consist of their rights in different areas, such as property division or providing financial support. Such contracts are going to make it less likely for legal uncertainty to take place.
● Common Law marriage:
There are also areas where cohabited couples get to experience things the way married couples do. There are specific criteria in the law that need to be met, and they will be good to go.
It can include things like spending or living together for a specific number of years and showing themselves as couples in a public area. We call this concept a “common law marriage.”
Lawyers can make things easier!
Hiring an attorney is crucial if you navigate through the legal framework with ease. Otherwise, it can get tricky for you as you will not be aware of how things work and how you will tackle any problem you may face in your way. Thus, hiring a skilled lawyer in Boston will make navigating through family law easier.
You may also like: How to Manage Your Finances During a Divorce
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