Also known as: matrimonial cohabitations · cohabitation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The living together of husband and wife. This conduct satisfies one element of common law marriage when paired with mutual consent and public holding out as spouses.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Madison Meyers and Michael Miller exchanged promises to be spouses and then moved into a shared apartment. They used a joint bank account and introduced themselves as married at community events. Their matrimonial cohabitation satisfied the cohabitation requirement for a valid common law marriage under state law.
Mariam Mansour and Miles Montgomery married and lived together for four years before separating. Mariam sued for breach of an agreement allocating property based on contributions during the marriage. The court treated the period of matrimonial cohabitation as the relevant timeframe for accrual of the claim.
Mina Mehta and Miranda Morales married in one state and maintained a shared home there for two years. After moving, one spouse sought to dissolve the marriage in a new jurisdiction. Their matrimonial cohabitation established the marital domicile that the second state had to recognize.
Michael Miller and Madison Meyers lived as spouses in a single residence while raising two children. After separation Michael sought enforcement of a support order. The court examined the period of matrimonial cohabitation to determine the scope of ongoing obligations.
Mariam Mansour and Miles Montgomery resided together as husband and wife in a state that criminalized certain unmarried living arrangements. Their matrimonial cohabitation triggered analysis of whether the statute could constitutionally apply to married couples.
Mina Mehta and Miranda Morales lived together as spouses when one gave birth following assisted reproduction. The court relied on their matrimonial cohabitation to confirm both parties as legal parents of the child.
Matrimonial cohabitation requires that the parties be husband and wife. It differs from illicit cohabitation between unmarried persons or agreements between nonmarital cohabitants.
Supporting sources
No. It must be accompanied by an exchange of consents and public holding out as spouses. Duration is not fixed so long as the three elements coexist.
When parties are married the period of matrimonial cohabitation supplies the factual backdrop for breach claims and equitable contribution actions that accrue on termination of the relationship.
…relatives, principally the spouse and unmarried and dependent children. Excluded from the definition of "family," and hence from cohabitation, are various persons related by blood or adoption to the head of the household. The obvious purpose of the city is the traditional one of preserving certain areas as family residential…