1
CHAPTER ONE
Living Together
THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU REPORTS that in 1998, there were 4,236,000
households consisting of an unmarried man and an unmarried woman living
together. That compares with 54,317,000 households with wives and husbands
living together. The 2000 census has gathered information about same-sex
couples living together, but that data is not available as of June 2000.
Legality of Living Together
There is nothing illegal about an unmarried couple living together. The couple
generally can live wherever they wish. Some local zoning laws prohibit more
than three unrelated persons from living together in one house or apartment, but
those laws would not apply to a two-person household. A government’s attempt
limit a couple’s right to live together probably would be considered a violation
of the couple’s right to free association under The First Amendment to the
United States Constitution.
A few states still have laws on the books prohibiting fornication--sexual
relations between two persons who are not married--but such laws are almost
never enforced. Some states also have laws against sodomy, which, among other
things, prohibit sexual relations between people of the same sex. Those laws are
rarely enforced if the conduct is private, consensual, and between adults
2
(although in 1986, the United States Supreme Court in a divided decision did
uphold a Georgia law criminalizing private sexual relations between two men.)
Agreements to Share Expenses or Property
An unmarried couple living together can enter into an agreement to share
expenses or acquire property. Generally, if it is legal for two persons who are
not living together to enter into an agreement, it also is legal for the couple who
is living together to enter into a similar agreement. The fact that two people are
living together does not make the agreement automatically illegal.
So, if two people wish to agree about how much each will pay for rent,
mortgage, utilities, groceries, auto expenses, etc., the agreement can be valid and
enforceable