4. Nonmarital Relations

Marriage is deeply embedded in American culture. Currently, 86% of young men and 89% of young women are projected to marry at some point in their lives. However, it is increasingly common for people to spend significant amounts of time in nonmarital arrangements⁸ This means that property law regularly faces disputes related to such arrangements. When, if at all, should courts shift property rights around as a result of a nonmarital relationship?

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^{8. In 2011, there were 56 million households with married couples at the head, out of a total of about 76 million family households, and 115 million households total. Five million households were headed by single men, and 15 million by single women. According to U.S. Census data, 66% of households in 2012 were family households, down from 81% in 1970. During that period, the share of households comprised of married couples with children under 18 halved from 40% to 20%. Of family groups living together, 71% were married couples, down from 74% in 2003. Of family groups with children under 18, 63% had married couples at the head, down from 67% in 2003. Five percent of family groups were unmarried couples with children. Unmarried people in opposite-sex relationships who were living together were just as likely as married opposite-sex couples to have children under 18 in their households (40-41% of both groups), while 16% of same-sex couples had children under 18 present. Among opposite-sex married couples who had children, however, almost 90% had children who were the biological offspring of both spouses, whereas that percentage dropped to 51% of unmarried couples living together with children. See Jonathan Vespa, Jamie M. Lewis, & Rose M. Kreider, America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2012 (Aug. 2013).}