Assignment #6 Cohabitation

Assignment #6 Cohabitation

1) Briefly describe the trend in cohabitation over the past thirty years.
                According to the powerpoint on cohabitation, the number of cohabitating couples is gradually increasing.  In 1980s about 1,500,000 were cohabitating while in 2000 almost 5,500,000 couples were cohabitating.

2) According to your textbook by Cherlin, cohabitation has three diverse meanings. Please list and describe these using your own words.
                Cherlin talks about how cohabitation can be divided into three groups.  The first group contains couples that use cohabitation as an alternative way of being single.  Those couples would not be planning on getting married anytime soon or ever.  Since they have no legal obligation to each other, they are more likely to end their relationship.  The second group of cohabitating couples is using cohabitation as a testing ground for their marriage.  When two people want a long term relationship but they are not sure if they want to marry each other they might cohabitate to see if living together works for them.  The third group of cohabitating couples would live together as a married couple but without involving a legal commitment. 

3) Would you consider cohabitation? Why or why not? If you would consider cohabiting, which of these meanings coincides with how you might view your own cohabiting relationship.
                No, I would not consider cohabitation.  My parents are religious and they would rather pay for my wedding rather than knowing I am living with my boyfriend without marriage.  If I were to consider cohabitation  I would use it as an alternative to marriage.  I would like to marry sometime after graduating from Montclair State but with this economy I do not think I will be able to have a job that supports me, my boyfriend and our wedding plans.  If we were to cohabitate, we would act as a married couple and eventually marry at some point in our lives.

4) After reading the boxed section on Domestic Partnerships on pages 228-29 in Chap 7 of your textbook, and going over the Powerpoint slides, list 4 of the rights that married couples receive that cohabiting couples want?
                Four rights that married couples have that cohabitating couples want are: file a joint income tax return, receive Social Security survivor’s benefits if their spouse dies, adoption of children and both being responsible for them.

5) Do you believe that cohabiting heterosexual couples should have the same rights as married couples? Why or why not? What if the couples are the same-sex and cannot marry in their state, should they receive the same benefits of married people. Why or why not?

             Cohabitating heterosexual couples should not have the same rights as married couples.  A cohabitating couple that wants the same benefits as a married couple is most likely a couple that wants to stay with each other in a long term relationship. If they want all the benefits that come with marriage, they should just marry.    Same-sex couples should be receiving the same benefits as married couples.  If they are not able to have a legal commitment to each other there is nothing they can do about this.