Cohabiting partners – what rights do you have?

The terms common-law wife or husband are frequently used to describe a couple who live
together, but these relationships do not have legal recognition.
Living together with someone is sometimes also called cohabitation. Generally speaking, you
will have fewer rights as a partner, if you're living together than if you're married or in a civil
partnership.
Many couples believe that moving in together creates a common law marriage, giving you the
same rights as if you were married. It does not - the concept of common law marriage has no
legal validity in the UK (though cohabiting couples in Scotland do have some basic rights if their
partnership ends).

In reality, moving in together does not give you automatic rights to each other's property, no
matter how long you live together. And if your partner dies, cohabiting does not entitle you to
inherit - with potentially disastrous consequences for a surviving 'common law' spouse.
Written agreements can help to protect you from potential risks if you separate or your partner
dies.
Drawing up a cohabitation agreement can help you think through some of the key issues in your
relationship. Though not all of the agreement may be legally enforceable, it can help reduce the
likelihood of disputes and make any disputes easier to resolve.
For example, an agreement might cover issues such as how bills will be shared, whether you
will have any joint accounts, and what roles you will each have in terms of childcare, household
chores and so on.

Other possibilities include:

 clear arrangements covering ownership of the home and what rights each of you have to
live there;
 taking steps to get parental responsibility for children;
 appointing each other to hold a lasting power of attorney (so that if one of you is no
longer capable, the other can take decisions on his or her behalf);
 reviewing your wills and ensuring that you have each made appropriate provision for the
other;
checking - and if appropriate, changing - key financial arrangements such as pension schemes,
life insurances, savings and investments.

Although a living together agreement is recognized by the courts, it may be difficult to force your
partner to keep to the terms of the agreement. You should get legal advice if you find yourself in
this position.
Cohabitation does not automatically give you rights to the home you share. Problems can occur,
particularly when one of you moves into a property the other owns or rents.

If the property is rented, only the tenant(s) named in the rental agreement generally has the
right to live there - and has responsibility for paying the rent. If you are not a named tenant:
 you are likely to need the landlord's consent to move in;
 the named tenant can ask you to move out at any time (after giving reasonable notice);
 you have no right to stay if the named tenant decides to leave (though you might be able
to agree a new tenancy with the landlord).
 Similar rules apply if the property is owned by one of you. The property owner is the only one
entitled to live there - anyone else can be asked to leave. The owner can also make decisions -
such as selling the property - without consulting their partner.
However, even where only one of you owns the property, the other may have some rights (eg to
a share of the money if the property is sold). This can happen if:
 the owner has agreed in writing that the non-owner is entitled to a share of the home;
 the non-owner contributes financially (eg paying part of the mortgage) to the property on
the understanding that this entitles him or her to a share;
 the non-owner has acted to their own detriment (eg giving up a job) on the
understanding that this entitles him or her to a share;
 a partner with children applies to the court for the right to continue living there to ensure
the children's welfare.
In general, ownership is unaffected by moving in together. So:
 if you already owned something before you started to live together, it continues to be your
sole property;
 if you buy something yourself using your own money, it is your property;
 if you buy something together, you own it in the shares that you each contributed to the
purchase price unless agreed otherwise;
 if your partner gave something to you as a gift, you own it (though proving that a gift was
made can be difficult unless there is written evidence).

Cohabitation and children

Legally, you only have a role in important decisions about children (such as their education and
religion) if you have parental responsibility for them.
If the parents of children are not married, only the mother automatically has parental
responsibility. The mother's partner only has parental responsibility if:
 he is named as the father on the birth certificate (for a child born after December 2003);
 he enters into a parental responsibility agreement with the mother, obtains a parental
responsibility order or child arrangements order, or they get married;
 he is registered as the child's guardian and all other individuals with parental
responsibility have died (including the mother).
Cohabiting partners have no automatic right to inherit if their partner dies, although they may be
a beneficiary under the other's will. If you are a beneficiary, any assets you receive may be
subject to inheritance tax - there is no exemption for unmarried couples.
If you have lived together 'as man and wife' for at least two years or if you can show that you
were financially dependent on your partner, you can make a claim for a financial settlement
even if you were not a beneficiary of the will.
However, making a claim on the basis of a common law marriage like this can involve a
complex and expensive dispute with the other beneficiaries. And even if you are successful, you
may only be entitled to a limited share of your partner's assets.
If you owned your home together, the form of legal ownership has a major impact. If you owned
your home as 'joint tenants', you will automatically continue to own the (entire) home if your
partner dies. But if you were 'tenants in common', your partner's share is dealt with under the
terms of his or her will. If you rented your home, your rights to stay depend on the type of
tenancy, whose name(s) it is in and your landlord.
You will not be entitled to state benefits such as Bereavement Support Payment or a state
pension based on your former partner's National Insurance contributions. Whether you have
any entitlement under private pension or life insurance arrangements depends on whether the
particular scheme's terms gives rights to a cohabiting partner.
Banking
Cohabiting couples have no legal duty to support each other financially, either while you are
living together or if you separate. Nor do you automatically share ownership of your
possessions, savings, investments and so on.

If you are living together and you and your partner have separate bank accounts, neither of you
can have access to money held in the other partner’s account. If one partner dies, any balance
in the account will be the property of your partner's estate and cannot be used until the estate is
settled.

If you have a joint account, then both you and your partner have access to the account,
regardless of whether only one of you pays into it. If your relationship ends, the money will
belong to both of you. However, if one of you didn't use the account at all, for example, you
didn't pay any money in or take any out, it may be difficult to claim that you have any right to it.

If the account is in joint names, on the death of one partner, the other partner becomes entitled
to the balance and can continue to have unlimited access to the account. However, a proportion
of the balance will be taken into account when calculating the value of the estate of the person
who has died.

If you separate from your partner, you should consider closing an account in joint names to
avoid your partner accessing the funds or running up debts which will be your responsibility.