When unmarried parents split

IN MUCH of the world, ever fewer couples are marrying before having children. Two out of five births in the OECD club of rich countries—and two out of three in Latin America—are now outside marriage. The way the law treats the children of unmarried parents varies hugely. In some Islamic states they are turned into orphans when their mothers are executed for fornication. In China they enjoy so few rights (to public services or even an identity card) that nearly all are aborted. Even in countries that no longer discriminate directly against children of unmarried parents, laws that distinguish between married and cohabiting couples may harm them ().Some places, such as England and much of America, offer couples a binary choice: get married or the law will treat the two of you as unrelated. Others, such as France and the Netherlands, allow couples to choose from a range of “marriage-lite” contracts that incorporate some aspects of marriage, such as tax breaks or asset-sharing after splitting up. In a third group, including Australia and New Zealand, couples are automatically given many of the rights and duties of marriage after they have lived together for a certain number of years.