Published on: 13th May 2024

Common law marriage - Fact or Fiction

The number of couples living together who are married have been decreasing over the years. One reason for this is the rise of cohabiting couples. Recent statistics have shown that 6.8 million couples were cohabitating in 2022 within the UK. The term “Common law marriage” is a commonly believed concept that couples who live together unmarried for several years obtain rights to property owned by their partner upon death. However, this is a Myth as this concept has no legal recognition.

If one partner were to die intestate (without a Will) the surviving partner faces unique challenges. Unlike married couples, there’s no automatic legal right to the deceased partner’s property or assets. Depending on how the house is owned the surviving partner may not receive any part of the home:

• Joint Ownership:  the home will pass down to the surviving partner.
  
  
• Tenants in Common: If the home is owned as tenants in common (each party has a percentage of the home) the deceased partners share will not pass to the surviving partner but will form part of their estate which is distributed through the intestacy laws.
  
  
• Sole Ownership: If the home is solely owned by one partner, then you are at the most risk as if that partner were to pass, the whole of the property will be passed through the intestacy laws. This remains the case regardless of the duration of the cohabitation and if you helped pay the mortgage and bills each month.

As this is the fastest growing type of household within the UK, it is important to know where the law stands on these households and what you can do to best ensure your future. Having a Will is the best way to ensure that you and your partner are protected in the event of a death.

At Casey & Associates, we provide comprehensive services to help you plan for the future and ensure your peace of mind. We can discuss your wishes and help you create a Will. We also encourage that you consider creating a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) as cohabiting couples have no legal right to act on the behalf of each other for health and welfare or financial decisions. This means that, in the future if you were to lose the capacity to make decisions, your partner could not make important decision like choosing treatment for an illness or an issue at the bank. At Casey & Associates, we specialise in both types of LPA’s: Health & Welfare and Property & Financial affairs. By establishing LPAs, you can nominate someone to make decisions for you if you lose capacity.

If you would like to speak with one of our Consultants to discuss any of the issues raised in this article or any other Estate Planning topic please telephone 01732 868190 or click here.

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If you wish to give instructions or require general information about our Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, or Trusts then we will carry out a telephone or Zoom appointment.

However, if you wish to give instructions to one of our Consultants and you feel that you can only do this at a Face to Face meeting then we are offering, at our Consultant’s discretion, a limited number of Face to Face appointments in most of the areas we normally cover. To see the areas we normally cover please click here.

To arrange an appointment please telephone 01732 868190 or click here.

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