Fewer married couples, but more common-law ones

Just came across this great infographic issued last fall by the Vanier Institute of the Family, based on recent census data.

As a lawyer who practices family law, it was particularly interesting to me because while there’s been a decline in the percentage of married couples (from 93% t0 79%), there are plenty of couples (21%) who say they’re living in committed relationships and raising children without being married. And quite a number of these common-law couples say they never intend to be married.

From a legal perspective, this is significant, because many common-law couples don’t realize that in the event of a breakup, common-law partners don’t enjoy the same equal property rights as married couples do – and this can be problematic, especially if there are children involved.