

Recently, Christina and James have been thinking about having children and the subject of marriage has resurfaced. James remained close with his father who remarried and had a baby with his new wife. He lived with his mother for a few years, and then later with his mother and her boyfriend until he left for college. James grew up in a two-parent household until age seven, when his parents divorced.

Christina and her mother lived with her maternal grandmother, who often served as a surrogate parent. Her parents never married, and her father has had little contact with the family since she was a toddler. Neither Christina nor James had seen much success with marriage while growing up. Was it not only a piece of paper? Did not half of all marriages end in divorce? The couple had many discussions about marriage and decided that it just did not seem necessary. While Christina and James were confident in their decision to enter into a commitment (such as a 20-year mortgage), they are unsure if they want to enter into marriage.

For the past two years, they have been living together in a condo they purchased jointly.

