With fewer people now engaging in marriage and civil partnerships and the cohabiting couple on the rise, it is important to fully understand your rights and entitlements if you live with a partner but are not married.
My name is Michelle Simpson and I am an Associate Solicitor in Family Law. This is the first in a series of blogs to help bust the myth of ‘common law marriage’, this week we look at long term relationship breakdown.
No one wishes to consider what would happen to their assets in the event of a separation.
However, a common misconception is that a cohabiting couple who live together for a significant period of time have the same rights as if they were formally married.
This can lead to problems such as agreeing on responsibilities during the relationship and can cause problems in the future in the division of financial assets in the event of a separation.
The main differences between married and co-habiting couples are:
- You don’t have automatic rights to property held by your partner
- There are no legal obligations for you and your partner to support each other financially and therefore you can’t make any claims for spousal maintenance
- Unlike a father who is married to their child’s mother, a father who is not named on the child’s birth certificate does not have automatic parental responsibility over their child. This means that you don’t have automatic rights or decision-making powers over your child.
If you wish to cohabitate with your partner, there are ways you can protect yourself in the event of a relationship break down such as drawing up a Cohabitation Agreement.
This is a document drawn up between you and your partner that can set out the rights and responsibilities in relation to the property that you live or intend to live in, the financial arrangements during the relationship and what is to happen in the event of a separation.
The benefit of this document is its high flexibility to be tailored towards each couples needs and provided that the agreement is correctly drafted, the agreement will be legally binding in the UK.
Furthermore, you may wish to draw up a Parental Responsibility Agreement or consider applying for a Child Arrangements Order in relation to your children.
If you and your partner are considering living together or already are and you want further advice then call me on 01663 743 344 or email me Michelle Simpson
