Intro: Research suggests that when people are older when making their first significant life event, whether that is
cohabitation or marriage, then their changes are better to stay together over a lifetime.
More American couples are choosing cohabitation before marriage because it offers a chance to share the bills
without the cost of marriage. Critics compare this decision as a way to “play house” or share a bed without the
consequences of leaving that a marriage contract requires. The Council on Contemporary Families says that
cohabitation doesn’t make a couple an automatic divorce statistics either.
For most couples, cohabitation of any type at the age of 23, when adult life begins and people become financially
independent, decreases the chances of divorce. Couples who commit to cohabitation (or marriage) at the age of
18 see a 60% chance of breakup or divorce. That rate drops in half at the age of 23.
Here are some more of the pros and cons to look at when evaluating cohabitation before marriage.

#1: Youssef - Supporting reason

It is a way for couples to share liabilities while also having more individuality.
Living together in today’s society helps people save money. Without a marriage commitment, there are fewer
expenses to consider while planning too. You can live like a married couple if you want without the cost of
creating a legal contract. There are no religious laws or ceremonies to worry about either, allowing people to
go their separate ways easily enough should the circumstances of life change. There is no legal reason to stay
bound together or costs involved with separation.

#1: Jad - Opposing reason (refuting)

Cohabitation is wrong because it has no security.
Since cohabitation is an arrangement made between two lovers, it has no security.
You can be abused physically or emotionally and have no one to turn to for help and support. Your illicit
lover can walk out of your life any time and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
What if you get home and find that he or she has looted the house? What if your unlawful lover decides that
he or she has had enough and walks out with the kids without notice?

#2: Rafi - Supporting reason

Cohabitation allows you to get to know your partner better.
The choice to cohabitate is rising in the United States and the rest of the world because it offers a chance to
evaluate compatibility. Each person gets to frame their opinion about the other with an authentic view of their
conduct, character, and demeanor. You know what you’re getting into before marriage because you’re
experiencing it on a “test run” of sorts. Research published in the book Cohabitation and Marital
Stability found that cohabitation before marriage increased by up to 44% through the 1980s, with 60% of
adults saying that it’s the “best” way to understand one another before marriage.

#2: Jad - Opposing reason (refuting)

When evaluating relationships, couples who lived together before marriage tended to divorce early in their
marriage. If their marriage lasts seven years, then their risk for divorce is the same as couples who didn’t
cohabit before marriage. In the United States and in the UK, couples who live together are at a greater risk for
divorce than non-cohabitating couples.

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#3: Youssef - Supporting reason
Couples who cohabit have more sex than married couples.
Dr. Helen Nightingale suggests that women tend to consent to cohabitation because they hope it will one day
lead to marriage. They want their significant other to propose, putting a ring on their finger. When combined
with the fewer legal connections involved with a sexual relationship, cohabiting couples tend to have intimate
contact with each other more than three times per week, compared to 2-3 times per week for married couples.

#3: Jad - Opposing reason (refuting)

Compared to those planning to marry, those cohabiting have an overall poorer relationship quality.
They tend to have more fighting and violence and less reported happiness.

#4: Youssef - Supporting reason

There are more bonding opportunities with cohabitation.
Living with someone changes the dynamics of dating. Instead of maintaining two households, you’re only
stuck with one. You have more time to spend with one another each day instead of managing evenings or
weekends. It creates new bonding opportunities on more than an intimate level because you’re spending more
time with one another than a traditional courting relationship would permit. That gives you more time to set
boundaries and goals which are meaningful for each person, which can lead to a higher level of success.

#4: Adnan - Opposing reason (refuting)

Cohabitation is wrong because it is based on emotions.
“I’m leaving him or her because I no longer have feelings for him or her.”
“The fire has died down, so I’m leaving.”
“We are not compatible.”
These are some of the statements uttered by people walking out of a cohabitation contract.
Any relationship based on feelings is bound to fail.
Live-in relationships can be very volatile because there is no stabilizing bar of commitment. Marriage should
be the starting point of such commitment.

#5: Rafi - Supporting reason

You can still protect your property when cohabitating.
If you decide to move in with someone before marriage, you can still protect your property if something
should happen to your relationship. A cohabitation agreement works just like a prenuptial agreement does for
a married couple. You can specify which things should be insured, how property division should occur, and
most couples won’t have someone on the hook to pay alimony or “palimony” to support the needs of their ex-
partner.

#5: Adnan - Opposing reason (refuting)

Cohabitation is wrong because it hurts innocent children.
Thousands of clueless children are being sacrificed on the altar of a selective convenience called living
together out of wedlock.
To begin with, research has shown that children from cohabiting families have more social ills than kids
from married homes.
For example, they have low self-esteem and are more likely to be abused than those from married homes.
They are also more prone to violence. In addition, they are likely to be bad parents.
When their parents separate or divorce (which they are bound to do according to statistics) kids are hurt
beyond words.

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