Cohabitation is not marriage

The courts recall that cohabitation is not a marriage. For example, in the judgment of February 24, 2021 (I ACa 337/20), the Szczecin Court of Appeal emphasized that „cohabitation by itself cannot be a source of any rights and obligations regulated in the family and guardianship code. For this reason, the law on marriage cannot be applied to cohabitation, even by analogy. This also applies to the provisions of the Family and Guardianship Code on matrimonial property relations, including settlements following the termination of commonality. A different interpretation would mean, to some extent, the equation of marriage and the informal relationship, for which there is no legal basis. On the other hand, there is no doubt that there is a need to make property settlements after the end of cohabitation. ”. Earlier, the District Court in Olsztyn similarly ruled (decision of November 13, 2019, IX Ca 1195/19), stating that „there are no grounds for applying in the case of settlement of cohabitation the provisions on marital property relations, even by analogy, because it would de facto mean equating marriage and cohabitation in this respect – for which there is no legal basis. Especially because it would destroy the established legal system in which cohabitation was consciously recognized as not subject to regulation by the provisions of the family and guardianship code ”. Therefore, especially the economically weaker party of cohabitation (usually a woman) should strive to get married, as cohabitation will expose her to a high legal and financial risk.