Marriage: In general, Peruvians have free choice about who they can or cannot marry, with class and money being the two most significant variables in terms of marriage decisions. Many couples decide to live together because of their lack of resources for carrying out both the legal and religious ceremonies. Lack of economic resources is also a key reason for couples to continue to live with one of the spouses' families until they are financially secure enough to move out on their own. Heterosexual and monogamous marriages are the only ones sanctioned by the state and the Catholic Church, although men having more than one household is tolerated and even expected. Divorce and remarriage are very much a legal possibility but the Catholic Church and the conservative society strongly frowns upon remarriage following a Catholic religious ceremony.
Domestic Unit: The Peruvian model for a domestic unit is the Western nuclear family. Nevertheless, because of traditional indigenous traditions and scant resources, extended kin can also be the norm. Men in general have the highest authority within the house, although women also have much of the decision making power, especially concerning children and family matters, even though it tends not to be explicitly recognized.
Inheritance: Males and females have equal legal rights in regard to inheritance, although in some instances women must either work harder or get legal representation because their claims might not be taken seriously.
Kin Groups: Unlike most urban Peruvians, the rural populations still maintain strong ties to their extended kin. Many rural populations, even when they have moved to urban centers, recognize their ties to large extended kin groups known as ayllus . Since pre Hispanic times ayllus have defined land distributions and authority figures within each kin group. At present, ayllus still play a powerful part in defining people's roles and obligations in village social structures.
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