how long do you live with someone to be common law married uk
Cohabitation Today sixty percent of all marriages are preceded by a period of cohabitation.[28] Researchers suggest that couples live together as a way of trying out marriage to test compatibility with their partners, while still having the option of ending the relationship without legal implications.[29] "More than three-quarters of all cohabitors report plans to marry their partners, which implies that most of them view cohabitation as a prelude to marriage.[30] Cohabitation shares many qualities with marriage, often couples who are cohabiting share a residence, personal resources, exclude intimate relations with others and, in more than 10% of cohabiting couples, have children.[30] "Many young adults believe cohabitation is a good way to test their relationships prior to marriage.[31] Couples who have plans to marry before moving in together or who are engaged before cohabiting typically marry within two years of living together.[32] The state of cohabitation of a couple often ends either in marriage or in break-up; according to a 1996 study about 10% of cohabiting unions remained in this state more than five years.[33] According to a survey done by The National Center for Health Statistics, "over half of marriages from 1990-1994 among women began as cohabitation.[21]