Unmarried couples - no change to the law on finance

It has been 15 years since an influential body of research lawyers recommended changes to the law affecting finances on the separation of unmarried couples.  

My colleague, Karen Johnson, produced a blog on this in September The rights of cohabiting partners - A Cohabitation Reform.  Now the government has indicated that it does not intend to amend the existing law – certainly at this stage. 

The original suggestion had been that unmarried couples should have legal protection on separation similar to, but not identical to, those rights enjoyed by married couples on divorce.  The couple would have to satisfy certain qualifying criteria and not have ‘opted out’ of the protection offered.

Although the government hasn’t ruled out change forever, it has said that at this stage no changes are contemplated.  This of course means that we continue to have a very different law applying to married couples than to unmarried couples. 

‘common law marriages’

A lot of misunderstanding about people’s rights remains.  All the time we still hear mention of ‘common law marriages’ which don’t exist save in extremely exceptional circumstances, the likes of which most solicitors never encounter.  It can come as a real shock when I have to advise a client that they have no legal or financial rights even though they may have been in a relationship with someone for years or even decades. 

What can unmarried couples do now?

The law may change one day but for the time being, those couples who want the rights and responsibilities that go with marriage can only acquire them by getting married.  Those who would prefer not to get married won’t enjoy the same rights or responsibilities even though they could enter into an agreement to at least give themselves some protection in the event of their relationship breaking down. 

If this is something you are concerned about please call our Family Team on 01206 217320 for a free 15-minute chat to discuss.