Articles FinancialGeneral FinanceLiving with your partner? Here’s what you should know about your rights
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Living with your partner? Here’s what you should know about your rights

By The Press Association Nov 27, 2023

A family lawyer tells Lisa Salmon that cohabiting couples have very few rights if they split up, and outlines the ones that currently exist

The number of cohabiting couples has risen massively in recent years, with opposite-sex and same-sex couples, who live together, but aren’t married or in a civil partnership, now accounting for around one in five UK families.

But while figures from the Office for National Statistics show there’s been a 150% increase in cohabiting couples – from around 1.5 million in 1996 to 3.7 million in 2022 – such couples have few, if any, legal rights, should the relationship end.

And that’s why Resolution, the organisation for lawyers that work with separating families, has made the theme of its annual awareness week (November 27-December 1) Vision for Family Justice, focusing on the need for legal reform to give cohabiting couples rights if they separate, or if one of them dies.

“Unlike marriage and civil partnership, which give statutory rights and obligations, cohabitation gives no legal status to the couple, who have few, if any, rights against each other at the end of the relationship. This is widely misunderstood,” stresses family lawyer Ellie Foster, legal director at Raworths solicitors in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

According to the 2019 British Social Attitudes Survey, almost half of people (46%) mistakenly believe common law marriage exists, as do 55% of households with children.

“Many people still believe they have rights as a ‘common law spouse’, especially if they have children,” observes Foster. “This is a complete myth, whether you’ve been together for four or 40 years. Unfortunately, many people only discover this fact far too late, and the lack of protection can leave one partner, often women, in a very vulnerable situation financially.”

Here, Foster outlines what your legal rights are if you’re part of a separating cohabiting couple in England and Wales…

1.   If only one partner owns the house

This is potentially a big problem, and Foster explains: “If the house is owned just by your partner, then they could force you to leave the property and sell it, and you wouldn’t be entitled to any of the proceeds of sale.”

2.  You both own the house

If you co-own the family home, or any other property, you’d need to agree who keeps it and what payment the other person receives in return, or whether it should be sold and how much you each receive from the proceeds. Foster says: “If you can’t agree who owns what shares of the property, or whether it should be sold, then you’d have to ask the court to decide.”

3.  If you can prove you contributed to the house

Foster explains that you might have a claim against a property owned solely by your partner if you can show you’ve contributed to it, for example towards the deposit or mortgage, or you agreed you’d have a share, or they promised you a share. “This can be a very tricky issue to sort out,” she warns.

4.  If you have shared assets

Any assets or liabilities you own jointly, for example joint bank accounts or loans, would be split equally, unless there’s evidence of unequal ownership, says Foster.

5.  House contents

It may be tough to remember who bought what for the house during your relationship, but when it comes to dividing the contents if you split up, the legal owner is the one who paid for it. Foster says: “Unless you can agree who keeps what, any household contents such as a fridge or TV, are usually owned by the person who bought the item.”

6.  Who gets the dog?

Again, if you’re arguing over who keeps the dog or cat, the person who legally owns it is the one who bought it, just like the rest of the house contents. “A family pet is treated legally in the same way as any other asset or household item, such as a TV,” explains Foster.  “Whoever bought the pet is usually the legal owner, so if you want to keep the family dog, but your partner owns it, you’ll need to reach an agreement with them.”

7.  What about the children?

If you have children and they spend the majority of their time with you, then you can claim child maintenance from your partner, says Foster, who explains this is usually payable until the children leave school.

And depending on your partner’s financial circumstances, but especially if they’re wealthy and/or have a high income, Foster says that through the courts you might be able to claim for enhanced child maintenance; and/or lump sums to be paid to meet specific costs for the children, a property to be bought or funded by your partner for the children to live in (with you as their carer), often until they leave school or sometimes university. But she warns: “You wouldn’t own the property and it would be returned to your partner at the end of the agreed term.”

8.  What you can’t claim for

Foster says you have no right to claim maintenance for yourself, even if you’ve given up work for many years to look after the children, and you can’t claim a share of your partner’s pensions, or of any savings, investments, assets or income owned by them. But she adds: “It may be possible to reach a financial agreement with your partner, even if it isn’t strictly what the law would impose.”

9.  If you were engaged

If you and your partner were engaged, you may have limited extra protection for up to three years after the engagement ended, says Foster, so it may be possible to claim an interest in a property owned by your fiancé(e) if you made substantial contributions to improve its value, such as paying for building work. “This is a little used remedy and can be a tricky issue to sort out,” she warns.

10.  If your partner dies

Foster says: “Ironically, if your cohabiting partner dies during your relationship, then you may have more protection than if you’d separated, because you may be able to make a claim against their estate for financial support.”

11.  Law reform

Foster says that in 2007, the Law Commission recommended cohabitants should be able to make financial claims. “But the recommendations have never been implemented,” she says, “and there seems to be limited Parliamentary appetite for reform.”

12.   Make a cohabitation agreement

Foster recommends that anyone planning to move in with their partner should consider a cohabitation agreement to set out ownership of property and assets, how household costs will be met, whether there should be financial support if one partner gives up work to look after children, and how all assets – including the family pet – should be divided if you split up or one of you dies.

She says: “Until the law is changed, it would be sensible for potential cohabitees to consider carefully the financial implications of living together and agree what should happen if they split up, to provide some certainty and try to minimise future dispute and costs.”

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