21st Century Trends of Concern.

Listed below are a few 21st century trends which could come across as a concern to anyone who is entering into a relationship.

Prenuptial Agreements: A prenuptial agreement is a legally binding contract created by two people before they marry. In a prenuptial agreement, the couple addresses and agrees on the outcomes of various situations and possible issues that could occur in the future such as custody, property rights, and who owns what. These topics would be followed up should the couple divorce. Getting a prenuptial agreement means that you will be able to keep assets you have accumulated over the years. If you partner tried to take these things from you during a divorce, you would have the prenuptial agreement to back you up. Prenuptial agreements are most common in people who acquire a lot of money. It provides a security for them so that none of it will be lost or stolen during the divorce. Of course there is both pros and cons to a prenuptial agreement. A con would be that asking someone to sign prenup papers could lead to some confrontation because it shows that you don't trust your partner and are not confident about the future relationship lasting. A pro would be that it allows a couple to discuss what means the most to them and minimized secrets in the relationship. It also allows you to keep assets you worked hard for or that are important to you.

Common-Law Marriages: What is Common-Law Marriage? Common law marriage is an alternative to traditional marriage. Instead of getting a marriage license, a man and women who live together and intend to marry in the future, can become common law spouses without a license or a wedding.  Some perks of being in a common-law marriage are that they can take stress off of a couple and allows each individual to keep some individuality. You have an easy out if you decide to split up and its less complicated. However, some negatives to being apart of a common-law marriage is that you are not legally connected to that person in any way therefore there is no health benefits or legal rights of any kind.

Cohabitation: Cohabitation is when two individuals in a relationship live together prior to being married. Many people believe that cohabitation would help the success of a relationship. However, statistics show that cohabitation is actually setting your relationship up for major risk. Living together allows couples to experience each others good and bad habits and they begin to learn new things about them that they never knew before. By taking this big step to early, couples are leaving room and time for opinions to change and to experience each others bad traits. This could lead many individuals to want to back out of engagement or marriage. Therefore it is better to for a couple to wait until they are married before they live together.