Surveys show that too many people, including those who are already living together, are under the impression that they will have legal rights as ‘common law husband and wife’. This is not the case. Although attempts are being made to get the law brought into line with modern family structures, at present cohabitants have no automatic legal rights against each other if they separate or one partner dies.
Issues regarding cohabitants rights tend to fall into two areas:
Unlike other areas of family law, the courts do not have wide discretion in these matters.
It is possible for a couple who live together to enter into a Cohabitation Agreement. This is a contract between the couple and can, for example, set out how assets are to be divided in the event of separation, or what financial support one person will give to the other. If these agreements have been entered into properly, they should be binding. Cohabitation Agreements are therefore a useful way of providing protection which the law does not currently offer to cohabiting couples.
If you are planning to buy a property with your partner, or live together in a property that one of you already owns, it is advisable to prepare a Declaration of Trust, setting out clearly what entitlement each of you has to the property now and in the future.
It is also important to make or review your Will as a cohabitee does not have any automatic right to inherit any of their partner’s assets