Cohabitee Disputes

People often live together these days without going through a formal ceremony of marriage or civil partnership. There is a widely held myth that they have a “common law” marriage because they have lived together for a certain period of time or because they have children together.

In fact, the concept of common law marriage was abolished in England and Wales with the Marriage Act in 1753.

This means that if you live together without being married, there is no unified code of law that applies as if you were married and are having a divorce or dissolving a civil partnership.

Instead, your legal rights will depend on a lot of different sources of law and can be very complicated.

Property

The Court will not have the same wide discretion to adjust property rights as it has with married couples going through a divorce or with civil partners going through a dissolution. Instead, the Court will have to apply property or trust law to decide who has an interest in the house.

If there are children, you may be able to make financial claims under Schedule 1 of the Children Act. But this will not normally entitle you to capital after the children have grown up.

Maintenance

You will not on the breakdown of the relationship be entitled to claim maintenance for yourself but if there are children, you may be able to obtain child support through the CSA.

Children

If you are not married and you have children, the father will only have parental responsibility if he is registered on the birth certificate after 1 st December 2003 . Otherwise, he will need a formal written agreement of the mother or an order of the Court.

Inheritance

If your partner dies without making a Will, you may not be entitled to a share in the Estate. It will all depend on property rights or possible you may have a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975.

Cohabitation Contracts

It is possible to enter into an enforceable contract that will set out what you both want to happen in the event of a relationship breakdown.

How we can help

The above summary is only very general information. We can provide advice or representation tailored to your own particular circumstances.