Happy Valentine’s Day: the rights of cohabitating couples examined

Malvina Peci, of Wannops LLP, writes that - as our society changes - marriage is further down the agenda for many couples. It is very common for partners to live together for extended periods of time before getting married, if they marry at all. Cohabiting couples are the fastest-growing family type in the UK, yet there is no legislation in England and Wales that adequately protects such couples on separation and death.

The law is still somewhat behind the times in regards to cohabiting partners and worryingly, many still continue to believe in the ‘common law marriage’ myth and are utterly unaware that they have few or no legal rights. The gap in the law has a particularly detrimental effect on the financially ‘vulnerable’ party, which more often than not are women.

Read the full article here.