Despite co-habitation without marriage or civil partnership being the fastest growing family type in England and Wales, the lack of legal protections in respect of this type of living arrangement can leave parties financially vulnerable if the relationship breaks down, or one party passes away. The perpetuating myth of ‘common law marriage’ means that many co-habiting parties do not realise their lack of financial protection until too late.
The government has announced the launch of its consultation into whether to reform this area of law. The consultation is to run until the 10 August.
The reforms being considered are proposals to introduce protections to strengthen the rights of co-habiting couples if their relationship comes to an end, including financial remedies, inheritance rights and protection for victims of domestic abuse. Qualifying criteria is also being considered and potentially couples would have had to have co-habited for three years or have a child together to be able to access the protection.
Consideration is also being given as to whether nuptial agreements should become legally binding.
Currently co-habiting couples have no legal responsibility towards each other to support the other financially, nor does living together confer an interest in the other party’s assets on separation. If funds are used to purchase or improve a property then how those funds should be protected is an important consideration as without a clear agreement there are risks that these funds will not be recovered should the parties separate and the contribution has not been formally documented.
Though reforms may be coming in the future, at the moment the legal position has not changed and co-habiting couples should still take steps where they can to protect contributions. If a relationship does cease, then it can be difficult to evidence exactly what was agreed if this has not been clearly recorded such as in a declaration of trust.
For more information on family matters or to find out how we can help you, please contact our Family Team on us on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form and a member of the team will be in touch.