Lesson 1: Cohabitation Versus Marriage
Image Source: PixabayYou probably know couples who have decided simply to live together rather than to get married. If you are an older student, it is possible that you yourself live in this sort of arrangement. One term for relationships of this sort is cohabitation , though many people call it living "common-law" or having a "common-law marriage", expressions you read about in Section 1: Lesson 2.
Traditionally, cohabitating couples have avoided most of the legal obligations of married people, though this also means, of course, that they have not enjoyed the rights and benefits conferred by marriage either. Recently, however, this situation has changed as you will discover as you work through this lesson. The changes in Alberta are especially significant.
The rights of cohabiting partners vary depending on which province in Canada they happen to live in. In some provinces, if couples have lived in a stable common-law relationship for a certain amount of time, they do acquire some of the rights and obligations of legally married people. Alberta, as you will see, has gone further than many provinces in this direction.
