To put civil partnerships into context cohabitation is the fastest growing family setup with 3.4 million people in the UK choosing to live together.
While there may be future legal changes to recognise and address the lack of legal rights, currently there is no specific law and parties have limited legal protection, if any. The concept of “common law marriage” does not exist and the law is complex.
People may reject the concept of marriage as outdated and religious, but what if you want to have financial stability and security? You may also want the same legal rights and tax benefits which married couples receive.
Same sex couples have been able to enter into a civil partnership since 2004 and marry since March 2014. Since 31 December 2019 heterosexual couples can also now enter into a civil partnership.
This is a legally recognised relationship and provides you with the same benefits as marriage ie in respect of finances, children and tax. As with marriage, you can also seek to regulate finances by entering into a pre-nuptial agreement.
If you are not considering marriage or a civil partnership then why not have a discussion about entering into a cohabitation agreement.
A cohabitation agreement can provide you both with real security. With such an agreement for example you can set out how you’ll share finances while living together or what will happen if something unexpected occurs such as one partner becoming ill or if the relationship ends
You can also discuss arrangements in the event of either parties’ death and prepare wills. These are difficult conversations to have, but when is a good time to talk?
At Awdry Law we tailor our advice to your specific needs and to reflect your situation. Our aim is to ensure that you can make informed decisions to support yourself and your family.
Please click here to contact a member of our highly experienced and friendly Family Law team today.