New Jersey legislature has defined cohabitation as being a “mutually supportive, intimate personal relationship in which a couple has undertaken duties and privileges that are commonly associated with marriage or civil union.”
This doesn’t necessarily that the couple needs to be living together full-time in order for a court to find that a cohabitative relationship exists, rather, the courts will consider the following factors when determining whether or not a couple is cohabitating:
- If the couple shares finances like joint bank accounts or shared holdings and/or liabilities
- If the couple share responsibilities for living expenses
- Recognition of the relationship by family and social cicles
- Whether or not the couple is living together, and if not, the frequency of contact, and the duration of the relationship in question
- If the couple shares household chores
- Any other evidence the court deems relevant