The underuse of a demographically relevant institution: Notarial perspectives on Catalonia’s cohabitation relationships of mutual aid

Arnau Nonell-Rodríguez

doi:10.35295/osls.iisl.2774

Authors

Arnau Nonell-Rodríguez Universidade NOVA de Lisboa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3313-2486

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.2774

Keywords:

population ageing, non-conjugal cohabitation, Catalonia, notarial practice, care ethics

Abstract

This paper examines the limited practical use of Catalonia’s cohabitation relationships of mutual aid, a legal regime designed to recognise non-conjugal forms of cohabitation beyond traditional family law. It mainly aims to assess the regime’s uptake and empirically test prior doctrinal claims about its marginality, while considering possible solutions. The study draws on care ethics to explain the theoretical relevance of the regime in the context of population ageing, declining fertility, and diversified care arrangements. It surveys notaries practising in Catalonia to examine its frequency, user profiles, barriers to use, and potential remedies. The findings show that the regime is underused and largely invisible in notarial practice, despite being considered socially and demographically relevant by participants. Older collateral relatives appear to be the main user profile, lack of public awareness emerges as the principal barrier, while greater publicity and stronger tax advantages are perceived as key incentives for its use.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Global Statistics

62 Views	38 Downloads
100 Total

Author Biography

Arnau Nonell-Rodríguez, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa

E-mail: arnau.rodriguez@novalaw.unl.pt

References

Arnau Raventós, L., Ginebra Molins, M. E., and Tarabal Bosch, J., 2021. Dret de família. Teoria i casos. 2nd ed. Barcelona: Atelier.

Aurel, T. L., and Schadler, C., 2025. Polyamory. In: D. Mortelmans, L. Bernardi and B. Perelli-Harris, eds., Research handbook on partnering across the life course. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 117–128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803923383.00016

Barker, N., 2016. Rethinking conjugality as the basis for family recognition: A feminist rewriting of the judgment in Burden v. United Kingdom. Oñati Socio-Legal Series [online], 6(6), 1249–1275. Available at: https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/739

Beken, H. G., and Kirer Silva Lecuna, H., 2026. Fertility, family structure, and female labor force participation: evidence from Southern Europe and Türkiye. Journal of Population Research [online], 43(11), 1–24. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12546-026-09419-z DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12546-026-09419-z

Cahill, C. M., 2012. Regulating at the margins: Non-traditional kinship and the legal regulation of intimate and family life. Arizona Law Review [online], 54(43), 43–77. Available at: https://ir.law.fsu.edu/articles/523

Cahn, N., Huntington, C., and Scott, E., 2023. Family law for the one-hundred-year life. Yale Law Journal [online], 132(April), 1691–1768. Available at: https://yalelawjournal.org/article/family-law-for-the-one-hundred-year-life

Carpi Martín, R., 2018. Familia por pacto. Relaciones convivenciales de ayuda mutua en Cataluña, tras casi veinte años en vigor: luces y sombras. In: C. Sanciñena Asurmendi and J. Carbajo González, eds., La voluntad privada en las relaciones jurídico-familiares. Cizur Menor: Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, 179–192.

Crowe, J., et al., 2018. Understanding the legal information experience of non-lawyers: lessons from the family law context. Journal of Judicial Administration [online], 27(4), 137–147. Available at: https://research.bond.edu.au/en/publications/understanding-the-legal-information-experience-of-non-lawyers-les/

Chéliz Inglés, M. D. C., 2023. Las uniones no matrimoniales y el derecho a la vida familiar en el ámbito de la Unión Europea. Revista Boliviana de Derecho [online], 35, 14–33. Available at: https://zaguan.unizar.es/record/128190

Degner, J., 2019. Family formation, fertility, and failure: A literature review on price increases and their impact on the family institution. The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics [online], 22(2), 218–241. Available at: https://doi.org/10.35297/qjae.010012 DOI: https://doi.org/10.35297/qjae.010012

Dehmer, G., 2024. Die Verantwortungsgemeinschaftt – Von der politischen Forderung zu konkreten Arbeiten. In: D. Coester-Waltjen et al., eds., Verantwortung und Gemeinschaft in modernen Gesellschaften: 19 Göttinger Workshop zum Familienrecht 2023. Universitätsverlag Göttingen, 11–17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17875/gup2024-2643

Demey, D., et al., 2013. Pathways into living alone in mid-life: Diversity and policy implications. Advances in Life Course Research [online], 18, 161–174. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2013.02.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2013.02.001

Den Otter, R. C., 2018. Perfectionist argument for legal recognition of polyamorous relationships. In: E. Brake and L. Ferguson, eds., Philosophical foundations of children’s and family law. Oxford University Press, 95–114. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198786429.003.0005

Dethloff, N., and Leven, F., 2024. Adult relations of love and beyond: what legal recognition and protection do they need? In: F. Swennen, E. Goossens and T. Van Hof, eds., Rethinking law’s families and family law. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 139–155. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035338412.00015

Díaz Martínez, A., 2020. Ley 117. In: E. Rubio Torrano and M. L. Arcos Vieira, eds., Comentarios al fuero nuevo. Compilación del derecho civil foral de navarra. 2nd ed. Cizur Menor: Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, 518–524.

Dutta, A., 2024. Die Verantwortungsgemeinschaft aus rechtsvergleichender Perspektive. In: D. Coester-Waltjen et al., eds., Verantwortung und Gemeinschaft in modernen Gesellschaften: 19 Göttinger Workshop zum Familienrecht 2023. Universitätsverlag Göttingen, 47–64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17875/gup2024-2645

Engster, D., 2007. The heart of justice: Care ethics and political theory. Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199214358.001.0001

Esteve, A., et al., 2020. Living alone over the life course: Cross-national variations on an emerging issue. Population and Development Review [online], 46(1), 169–189. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12311 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12311

Esteve, A., and Reher, D. S., 2021. Rising global levels of intergenerational coresidence among young adults. Population and Development Review [online], 47(3), 691–717. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12427 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12427

Fisher, B., and Tronto, J., 1990. Toward a feminist theory of caring. In: E. K. Abel and M. K. Nelson, eds., Circles of care: Working and identity in women’s lives. Albany: State University of New York Press, 35–62.

Gago Simarro, C., 2020. Las parejas de hecho de complacencia. Revista de Derecho Civil [online], 7(4), 217–263. Available at: https://digibuo.uniovi.es/dspace/bitstream/handle/10651/58597/534-2946-1-PB.pdf?sequence=1

George, R., 2025. Family law as social policy: Taking family problems upstream. Current Legal Problems [online], 78(1), 1–27. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/clp/cuaf010 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/clp/cuaf010

Gete-Alonso Calera, M. C., 2013. Familia y las relaciones de convivencia. In: M. C. Gete-Alonso Calera, M. Ysàs Solanes and J. Solé Resina, eds., Derecho de familia vigente en Cataluña. 3rd ed. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch, 18–31.

Gili Saldaña, M., 2014. Articles 240-1 a 240-7. In: J. Egea i Fernàndez and J. Ferrer i Riba, eds., Comentari al llibre segon del Codi civil de Catalunya: Família i relacions convivencials d'ajuda mútua. Barcelona: Atelier, 1033–1066.

Gilligan, C., 1982. In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. 38th ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Giménez Costa, A., and Villó Travé, C., 2015. La regulación catalana de una nueva situación convivencial: las relaciones convivenciales de ayuda mutua. Actualidad Jurídica Iberoamericana [online], 3(ter), 153–167. Available at: https://revista-aji.com/articulos/2015/153-167.pdf

Goldfarb, S. F., 2020. Legal recognition of plural unions: Is a nonmarital relationship status the answer to the dilemma? Family Court Review [online], 58(1), 157–173. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12461 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12461

Gomá Lanzón, I., 2024. Comunidades y contratos asistenciales o de ayuda mutua: una realidad social necesitada de reconocimiento jurídico. El notario del siglo XXI: Revista del Colegio Notarial de Madrid [online], 118, 14–17. Available at: https://www.elnotario.es/opinion/opinion/13172-comunidades-y-contratos-asistenciales-o-de-ayuda-mutua-una-realidad-social-necesitada-de-reconocimiento-juridico

Gómez Soriano, M., 2022. Relaciones convivenciales de ayuda mutua en el Fuero Nuevo navarro. Diario La Ley, 10094, 1–12.

Hamington, M., 2004. Embodied care: Jane Addams, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and feminist ethics. Champaign: University of Illinois Press.

Hanum, L., Newcombe, P., and Scott, T., 2024. A systematic review of intergenerational co-residence between older people and adult children. Journal of Family Studies [online], 30(6), 968–988. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2024.2363785 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2024.2363785

Hayward, A., 2025. Civil partnerships and the repurposing of relationship formalisation: from creating a space to developing a script. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law [online], 47(1), 28–48. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2025.2499385 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2025.2499385

Heenan, A., 2021. Neoliberalism, family law, and the devaluation of care. Journal of Law and Society [online], 48(3), 386–409. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12308 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12308

Heenan, A., 2024. Autonomy, care and family law. Oxford: Hart. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9781509959365

Hernández-Pizarro, H. M., Prades-Colomé, A., and López-Casasnovas, G., 2025. Loneliness as a determinant of health: Evidence from the Health Survey of Catalonia. Gaceta Sanitaria [online], 39, 1–7. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaceta.2025.102491 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaceta.2025.102491

Herring, J., 2013. Caring and the law. Oxford: Hart.

Huh, R. K., 2020. Revisiting feminist care ethics for the age of the “pluralistic family”. Asian Journal of Women’s Studies [online], 26(1), 22–35. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2020.1718365 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2020.1718365

Inhorn, M. C., 2026. Informed opinion: The mating gap. Reproductive BioMedicine Online [online], 53(1), 1–19. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2026.105732 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2026.105732

Kersten, P., Mund, M., and Neyer, F. J., 2025. Livin’ La Vida Sola: Network diversity and well-being in aged adults living alone. Journal of Personality [online], 93(5), 1149–1163. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12998 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12998

Koggel, C. M., and Orme, J., 2013. Introduction. In: C. M. Koggel and J. Orme, eds., Care ethics: New theories and application. London: Routledge, 1–7.

Lesthaeghe, R., 2010. The unfolding story of the second demographic transition. Population and Development Review [online], 36(2), 211–251. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2010.00328.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2010.00328.x

Maine, A., 2024. Relationship recognition. In: C. Ashford and A. Maine, eds., Gender, sexuality and law: A textbook. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 197–219.

Maine, A., and Nonell i Rodríguez, A., 2026. Unburdening the burden: A comparative study on the legal recognition of cohabiting siblings in England and Wales, Catalonia, and Belgium. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law [online], 1-22. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2026.2696732 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2026.2696732

Martín-Casals, M., 2013. El derecho a la “convivencia anómica en pareja”: ¿Un nuevo derecho fundamental? Comentario general a la STC de 23.4.2013 (RTC 201393). InDret [online], 3, 1–43. Available at: https://indret.com/wp-content/themes/indret_2026/pdf/990.pdf

Miccoli, F., 2022. Should all families be treated equally by law? In support of equal dignity and legal recognition of unconventional families. Biblioteca della Libertà [online], 57, 1–32. Available at: https://doi.org/10.23827/BDL_2022_9

Navarro Michel, M., 2011. Artículos 240-1 a 240-7. In: E. Roca Trías and P. Ortuño Muñoz, eds., Persona y familia: Libro segundo del Código Civil de Cataluña. Las Rozas de Madrid: Sepín, 1403–1423.

Navarro Michel, M., Ribot, J., and Solé Feliu, J., 2026. Els poders preventius: l'experiència notarial a Catalunya. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya. Centre d'Estudis Jurídics i Formalització Especialitzada.

Noddings, N., 1984. Caring: A feminine approach to ethics and moral education. Oakland: University of California Press.

Nonell-Rodríguez, A., 2026. Multi-partner relationships and quasi-familial regimes: A comparative perspective on fallen-short recognition. In: J. Asland, K. K. Fredwall and J. M. Scherpe, eds., Family recognition beyond marriage. Copenhagen: Ex Tuto, 265–284.

Ortuño Muñoz, P., 2000. Article 7 de la Llei de Situacions Convivencials d’Ajuda Mútua. In: J. Egea i Fernández and J. Ferrer i Riba, eds., Comentaris al Codi de Família, a la Llei d’Unions Estables de Parella i a la Llei de Situacions Convivencials d’Ajuda Mútua. Madrid: Tecnos, 1284–1286.

Palazzo, N., 2021. Legal recognition of non-conjugal families: New frontiers in family law in the US, Canada and Europe. Oxford: Hart. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9781509939985

Palazzo, N., 2022. Marriage apostates: Why heterosexuals seek same-sex registered partnerships. Columbia Journal of Gender and Law [online], 42(1), 186–258. Available at: https://doi.org/10.52214/cjgl.v42i1.8713 DOI: https://doi.org/10.52214/cjgl.v42i1.8713

Palazzo, N., 2024. Non-conjugal couples and legislated cohabitation. In: M. Briggs and A. Hayward, eds., Research handbook on family property and the law. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 176–195. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802204681.00019

Palazzo, N., and Kornet, N., 2023. A closer link: Recent trends on registered partnerships and modern families in Europe. Child and Family Law Quarterly [online], 35(3), 275–304. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4731692 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4731692

Pleasence, P., and Balmer, N. J., 2012. Ignorance in bliss: Modeling knowledge of rights in marriage and cohabitation. Law & Society Review [online], 46(2), 297–333. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5893.2012.00490.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5893.2012.00490.x

Puig Blanes, F. D. P., 2020. Artículos 240-1 a 240-7. In: F. J. Sospedra Navas and F. D. P. Puig Blanes, eds., Comentarios al Código Civil de Cataluña. 3rd ed. Cizur Menor: Civitas.

Ruggles, S., and Heggeness, M., 2008. Intergenerational coresidence in developing countries. Population and Development Review [online], 34(2), 253–281. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2008.00219.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2008.00219.x

Scherpe, J. M., 2020. Formal recognition of adult relationships and legal gender in a comparative perspective. In: C. Ashford and A. Maine, eds., Research handbook on gender, sexuality and the law. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 17–31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788111157.00008

Solé Resina, J., 2026. Pactos de convivencia más allá del matrimonio y de la pareja estable: relaciones convivenciales de ayuda mutua. In: Universidad de Murcia, ed., Autonomía privada y consentimiento: Estudios en homenaje al profesor José Antonio Cobacho Gómez. Volumen tercero. Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia, 623–642.

Swennen, F., 2016. The changing concept of “family” and challenges for family law in the Benelux countries. In: J. M. Scherpe, ed., European family law volume II: The changing concept of “family” and challenges for domestic family law. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 5–21.

Swennen, F., 2020. Un-coupling family law: The legal recognition and protection of adult unions outside of conjugal coupledom. Feminist Legal Studies [online], 28(1), 39–60. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-020-09422-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-020-09422-6

Swennen, F., 2023. Het personen- en familierecht (achtste, herziene uitgave). Een benadering incontext. 8th ed.. Antwerp: Intersentia.

Swennen, F., 2024. Un-coupling family law revisited: Non-conjugal adult unions in family law. In: R. Probert and S. Thompson, eds., Research handbook on marriage, cohabitation and the law. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 275–294. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802202656.00026

Torrelles Torrea, E., 2023. De la Sagrada Familia de Murillo a la Gay Family on Dinner de Raphael Pérez: Nuevos modelos de familia en el ámbito jurídico. Anuario de Derecho Civil [online], 76(4), 1421–1488. Available at: https://doi.org/10.53054/adc.v76i4.10305 DOI: https://doi.org/10.53054/adc.v76i4.10305

Van Acker, E., 2017. The neglect of the marriage divide and disadvantaged cohorts. In: E. van Acker, ed., Marriage and values in public policy: Conflicts in the UK, the US and Australia. London: Routledge, 100–125. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315748146-5

Vercellone, A., 2020. Towards a functionalist notion of family in European private law. In: E. Stradella, ed., Gender based approaches to the Law and Juris Dictio in Europe. Pisa University Press, 507–523.

Vercellone, A., and Pecile, V., 2023. We are family: A queer legal analysis of nonconjugal relationships. The Cardozo Electronic Law Bulletin [online], 29(2), 31–44. Available at: https://doi.org/10.13135/1128-322X/9843

Vidal, S., Bolano, D., and Lozano, M., 2026. Partnership life courses and completed fertility in Spain. Demographic Research [online], 54(April), 935–972. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4054/demres.2026.54.29 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2026.54.29

Villagrasa Alcaide, C., 2011. La pareja de hecho y otras situaciones convivenciales no reguladas. In: R. Barrada Orellana, M. Garrido Melero and S. Nasarre Aznar, eds., El nuevo derecho de la persona y de la familia: libro segundo del Código Civil de Cataluña. Barcelona: Bosch, 539–556.

Wallbank, J., Choudhry, S., and Herring, J., 2010. Rights, gender and family law. London: Routledge-Cavendish. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203869475

West, R., 1998. Universalism, liberal theory and the problem of gay marriage. Florida State University Law Review [online], 25(4), 705–730. Available at: https://ir.law.fsu.edu/lr/vol25/iss4/1

Westwood, S., 2013. “My friends are my family”: An argument about the limitations of contemporary law’s recognition of relationships in later life. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law [online], 35(3), 347–363. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2013.801688 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2013.801688

Willems, G., 2017. Registered partnerships in Belgium. In: J. M. Scherpe and A. Hayward, eds., The future of registered partnerships. Family recognition beyond marriage? Cambridge: Intersentia, 381–409. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781780686325.017

Zueras, P., Blanes, A., and Esteve, A., 2024. Envelliment de la població de Catalunya. Escenaris de discapacitat i dependència. In: A. Fitó Frutos, ed., Construïm futurs sostenibles. Estratègies per afrontar el repte demogràfic. Barcelona: Departament de Drets Socials, Generalitat de Catalunya, 10–27.