Resolution has now submitted its response to the Government’s consultation on cohabitation and financial-remedies reform, notes Sue Shepperson, a Family Law Executive from Tallents Solicitors.
Sue Shepperson, Family Law Executive at Tallents Solicitors
Sue says: “From our perspective at Tallents Solicitors, its central message is both welcome and familiar: the law must do more to protect people when unmarried relationships end.
“For many years now, family lawyers have seen the uncertainty and hardship that can follow when cohabiting couples separate or when one partner dies without making a will. Resolution’s response supports reform in principle, while rightly calling for practical refinement to ensure any new system is fair, workable and accessible.”
The law has not kept pace
Cohabiting couples remain the fastest-growing family type in England and Wales, but living together, no matter for how long does not infer the same legal rights as marriage or civil partnership. The continuing belief in “common-law marriage” is widespread, yet it has no legal status in England and Wales.
That can produce particularly difficult outcomes for cohabiting couples when they separate. A partner may have made financial contributions to a home, stepped back from work to care for children, or built a long family life with someone, but still face limited protection if the relationship breaks down or ends suddenly. Equally, an unmarried surviving partner does not automatically inherit if their partner dies without a valid will.
Sadly, these are issues that we, as family solicitors encounter far too regularly, often when clients are already dealing with the emotional and financial consequences of separation or bereavement.
What Resolution supports
Resolution’s response backs reform across the consultation’s three connected areas: protections for cohabitants on separation, reform of financial remedies on divorce, and rules affecting cohabitants where a partner dies intestate, that is, without leaving a will. It says it broadly supports the Government’s proposed framework, subject to “suggestions and practical fine-tuning”.
This measured approach is important. Reform in this complex legal area needs to offer meaningful protection for those affected, particularly for financially vulnerable partners and children, without creating a legal system that is unclear or difficult for families to use.
The Government’s consultation proposed a potential framework for couples who have lived together for at least three years, or who share a child, provided they are in an “enduring family relationship”. The intention is not to treat all cohabiting couples exactly like married couples, but to provide a clearer route to financial protection where a committed family relationship has created dependency or disadvantage.
Fairness at separation
At present, the outcome for separating cohabitants often turns on strict legal ownership. Put very simply, the court may need to focus on whose name is on the title deeds, what any documents say and what can be proved about financial contributions, rather than looking broadly at what would be fair for all those involved when a long relationship has ended.
This currently rigid approach can feel very disjoined with how modern families live. For example, one partner may have reduced their working hours to care for children while the other built up savings, pension provision or equity in a property held in their sole name. When the relationship ends, the partner who focused on delivering care may find that their contribution to the family has not translated into an appropriate legal remedy.
A more coherent legal framework could allow the court to address genuine economic disadvantage arising from modern family relationships. However, the detail of the reform will matter enormously. Any reform must be clear enough for couples to understand, proportionate in operation and capable of resolving disputes without unnecessary cost or conflict.
Protection after death matters too
Resolution’s response also addresses an area that is too often overlooked: the position of a cohabiting partner after death. At present, if someone dies without a will, an unmarried partner has no automatic entitlement under the intestacy rules, however long the couple have been together.
This can leave a surviving partner facing serious uncertainty at an already distressing time. They may need to bring a claim under inheritance legislation, which can be complex, stressful and expensive. Reform that recognises the reality of enduring cohabiting relationships would be a significant step forward.
That said, the practical advice from us at Tallents Solicitors remains straightforward: make a will. Even if the law changes, a properly drafted will remains one of the clearest ways to ensure your wishes are followed and your partner is protected. They do not have to be scary or complex, and our experienced legal teams can help you make the right decisions for your circumstances. Appointments for will writing are available at any of our three offices in Newark, Southwell or Mansfield.
So, what should cohabiting couples do now?
The consultation has closed and the Government will now consider the responses it has received. There is no new law in force at this stage, so cohabiting couples should not assume that reform will protect them retrospectively or solve their immediate legal and financial arrangements.
There are sensible steps that can be taken now, notes Sue:
- Put a cohabitation agreement in place, setting out how property, savings, bills and other assets are owned and what should happen if you separate.
- Check how your home is owned, particularly whether you are joint tenants or tenants in common and consider making a Declaration of Trust where appropriate.
- Make or update your wills, especially where there are children, a shared home or unequal contributions to household finances.
- Review pension death-benefit nominations and life-insurance policies.
- Take advice early if you are separating, before making major decisions about the family home, finances or arrangements for children.
At Tallents Solicitors, we welcome Resolution’s constructive response and its continued commitment to creating family law that better reflects modern relationships. As Resolution has said, the objective must be reforms that deliver outcomes which are fair, practical and accessible for families.
Sue finishes: “In the meantime, planning ahead remains the best protection for cohabiting couples. If you are living with a partner and would like advice on a cohabitation agreement, property ownership, wills or the implications of separation, our Family Law team can help. Please call us at Newark, Southwell or Mansfield to arrange a confidential appointment.”
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The legal content of this article is correct at the date of publishing. We recommend you seek legal advice with regards to your personal circumstances before acting.
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