The transition of partnership is a complex process evidenced in present-day societies, centering on the change in the pattern of the classical marriage, manifested in a diversity of forms as well as in attitudes and behavior of individuals, generations, strata, and states. The book offers a description of transformation processes affecting the marriage model and a theoretical-conceptual analysis of the changing contents of the marital pattern, complemented with an empirical study of concrete cases of unmarried couples living together. Based on a comprehensive understanding of structural and demographic change in societies caught in a radical transformation, the book provides insight into individual needs of people – arguing for a more frequent and willing accommodation of these needs through policy measures, in the area of legislation, social welfare and population, similar to the ones already present in the postmodern (European) milieu.