Opting for Living-Apart-Together and Cohabitation Relationships in people 50+: A Longitudinal Analysis

Despite a growing body of research on later-life relationships, there are still only a limited number of explorative longitudinal studies that have investigated the factors responsible for the establishment of either a Living-Apart-Together (LAT) arrangement or a cohabitation relationship. Two waves of data collection by the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2014/2015-2017; N= 12,155; Mage=71.96; 76.3% women) were analyzed with a special focus on family, dwelling, and financial constraints. Those who were male, younger, and had more children were more likely to enter into a LAT arrangement or a cohabitation relationship than to remain unpartnered. More rooms and fewer years spent in the accommodation raised the odds to partner. LAT persons were slightly older than those in cohabitation relationships. No other factors influenced the form of living arrangement, which indicates that factors other than financial constraints and family responsibilities affect later-life LAT or cohabitation relationship formation.

Pensando en dos: Parejas Dinks, la opción de no tener hijos

El presente libro surge en congruencia con la línea de trabajo implementada por el Grupo de Investigación en Familia de la Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, en la que se han identificado las características sociales, las motivaciones, el proceso y los acuerdos establecidos en las formas como las parejas se conforman en la contemporaneidad. Tal es el caso de la investigación sobre las parejas LAT (Living Apart Together) en la ciudad de Medellín, donde se exploró el funcionamiento, los alcances y limitaciones de este tipo de parejas analizando algunas situaciones que viven frente a las familias y los hijos propios o nacidos en relaciones anteriores si los hay.

Living Apart Together

This book describes a new way of being a couple and a new family form—living apart together—where couples who are committed to one another nevertheless maintain separate residences and finances. Although studied previously in Europe and other areas, LAT has not attracted attention in the United States, although it appears to be as prevalent there as elsewhere. After presenting the research done about LATs in other areas of the world, the book presents the results of the author’s empirical research on this lifestyle—both the results of surveys taken in 2016 and of interviews of LAT couples in 2016 and 2017 in the United States and England, which explore the numbers of LATs, their reasons for living apart, their demographics, the economics of their relationships, and their mutual caregiving. It also compares and contrasts this lifestyle with both commuter marriage and cohabitation. A particular focus is placed on the special role that LAT appears to play in the lives of women, gay males, and couples 65 and older. Ways in which LATs encounter the US legal system currently—primarily with respect to the termination of alimony upon cohabitation—are described and criticized. After discussing what the purposes of family law should be in general, the author proposes a number of legal reforms that should be undertaken to support the caregiving functions LAT partners perform for each other.