Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has said his party should make divorce harder and discourage "informal" relationships.
The proposals would also see family law reformed to bolster the access of fathers and grandparents to children.
State backing would also be given to classes to prepare people for tying the knot.
Duncan Smith has been acting as David Cameron's "expert" on social breakdown.
Although Cameron is not obliged to adopt the recommendations, he regularly stresses his commitment to supporting marriage and has previously looked favourably on Duncan Smith's advice.
The Tory MP said his proposals were "timely" following the death of Baby P and other cases that highlighted the "chaotic nature" of family life in some areas.
He said: "This review is working from an underlying assumption that marriage should be supported both in government and in the law and that, related to this, fatherlessness - or motherlessness - should be avoided.
"Policy can and should be focused on stemming the tide of relationship breakdown. Marriage acts as a stabiliser and a signal. Married couples are far less likely to break up than couples who live together without getting married.
"Today 25 per cent of children in this country live in single-parent families and this trend is set to accelerate. These children are three times more likely to experience abuse."
The interim report, from Duncan Smith's Centre for Social Justice think-tank, advocates using the law and other official mechanisms to discourage "informal" relationships.
It links rising levels of family breakdown to the increase in cohabitation.
The document backs the establishment of "family relationship centres" modelled on those found in Australia, which can help separating or divorcing couples.
It vigorously opposes greater rights for cohabiting couples, which it argues are "not compatible" with encouraging marriage.
Since 1997 Labour has maintained that families of all kinds are equally good and getting married is merely a lifestyle choice.
As chancellor, Gordon Brown abolished married couples' allowance in 1999.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd