Concept of Live in relationship in global context

The attitude towards live-in relationships in different societies is diverse but its definition is the same almost everywhere. It is a kind of relationship in which a couple lives together without marrying each other and without any legal or social commitment. This arrangement is similar to marriage when it comes to the relationship between two individuals living together but there are no rights and obligations on either of the partners.
With increasing trend of living together without marriage governments and social organizations have been working together to formulate laws to safeguard the interest of both the partners. Today there are quite a few laws guiding these relationships but these laws do not provide rights similar to marriage. Courts do not enforce meretricious contracts because these laws are just like prostitution contracts. Meretricious contract is an agreement between two people to provide financial support in the exchange of sexual favors. This is why it is very difficult to claim rights in this relationship because it is difficult to prove that the relationship existed without any such meretricious contract.
Live-in relationship is a matter of personal choice more than anything else. It is fine until the people in the relationship are happy living like this. Societies are also accepting this trend slowly. There are many reasons for the increase in this trend. The first and most important reason is the increasing importance of individual liberties over the social obligations. The role of social structures and family is decreasing in the lives of the individuals.
Majority of the people now prefer to have a settled career, financial stability and professional growth over having a family and getting tied to responsibilities. Marriages are getting short lived and the trend of marrying in forties has also increased. This is not a new trend for the societies all over the world and it is a change that is being accepted all over now.