Family Law Reform: parental contact for children is set to change
The UK is set to overhaul family law, ending the automatic assumption that contact with both parents is always in a child’s best interests.
Do unmarried couples have legal rights?
Many people believe that unmarried couples who are living together have “common law” rights if they separate.
In England and Wales, there is no such thing as common law marriage, regardless of how long a couple has lived together. Couples who live together and are not married or in a civil partnership do not have the same legal rights and protections as those in a marriage or civil partnership.
Cohabitation is on the rise
When couples live together but aren't married or in a civil partnership, this is called cohabiting.
The number of cohabiting couples in the UK has been rising steadily in recent years. There are around 3.6 million couples cohabiting in the UK, and cohabitation is the fastest growing family type in the UK.
Cohabiting couples do not have the same legal status in England and Wales as those in a marriage or civil partnership. Not all cohabiting couples realise this, and might be unaware of what happens to their property, money and possessions (their ‘assets’) if they separate.
Neither person in a cohabiting relationship would be entitled to financial support or a share in the other person's assets if the relationship fails. And if one person died, the other wouldn't automatically be entitled to inherit from them, which could cause significant financial issues.
Legal protection for unmarried couples
One way to ensure that both of you do have legal protection if you break up is to put a cohabitation agreement in place.
This is a legal document in which you can set out who would get what in the event of a separation, as well as agree matters such as who is responsible for what during the relationship.
For cohabiting couples with children, a cohabitation agreement can also make accommodations for them.
A cohabitation agreement puts everything in writing, so there's less chance of uncertainty or disagreements further down the line. As a cohabitation agreement is drawn up in advance, the terms are more likely to be reasonable than if a couple waits until the relationship has already broken down.
