Love, marriage and family in India

In India a relationship is rarely just between two people. Parents, in-laws, community and the law all have a say, and most of the hardest conversations couples face here are with family, not with each other. These guides are written for that reality: what the law actually says, what to say to your parents, and how to stay on the same side as your partner while you do it.

Start with the question you are living right now. If your families don't agree yet, read the guides on love marriage, convincing parents and inter-caste marriage. If you live together or plan to, read the live-in guide for your rights. If you are married and the friction is at home, start with in-laws and joint families. The guides on dowry and mutual divorce cover the law plainly, with the help lines you may need. None of it is legal advice; for your own case, speak to a family lawyer.

And when you need to think it through before you say it out loud, talk to Adoree. Each of you gets a private space, any time, and Adoree can help you plan the conversation with your family.

8 guides

• Dowry: Meaning, Dowry Law in India, and How Couples Say NoDowry explained for Indian couples: the meaning, the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, the BNS sections that replaced 498A and 304B, and the words to say no without breaking two families apart.
• How to Convince Parents for Love Marriage: A Step-by-Step Plan, With What to SayYour parents said no, or you haven't told them yet. Here is a calm, step-by-step plan for Indian couples: what to agree on first, who to tell first, the exact words for your mother, your father and the elders, how to answer the usual objections, and your rights if they still refuse.
• Problems With In-Laws in a Joint Family: What to Do and What to SaySaas-bahu friction, a husband caught in the middle, parents who feel pushed aside. Boundaries, word-for-word scripts, and when living separately makes sense.
• Inter-Caste Marriage in India: The Law, Your Family, and What to SayYou love each other and your families see caste first. What Indian law actually says, how the Special Marriage Act works step by step, how to convince parents with words that land, and what to do if things turn unsafe.
• Live-In Relationships in India: The Law, Your Rights, and Your FamilyMoving in together before marriage is legal in India, but the law protects some live-in couples more than others. The judgments that matter, the rights you have, Uttarakhand's registration rule, renting a flat, and how to tell your families.
• Love Marriage in India: Telling Families, Registering It, and the Fights That Come AfterYou chose each other. Now come the families, the paperwork and the first year. A plain guide to love marriage in India: how to tell parents, how registration works under the Special Marriage Act and personal laws, and the problems couples actually run into after the wedding.
• Mutual Divorce in India: Process, Cooling Period and How to Talk About ItA calm guide to mutual divorce in India: the two motions, the six-month cooling period and when courts waive it, documents, timeline, and how to tell each other, your families and your children.
• 27 Places for Couples in Delhi, by Vibe, Area and BudgetGardens, monuments, cafes, rooftop dinners, markets and day trips across South, Central and North Delhi and Gurugram, each checked and given a budget band.