Cohabiting and Unmarried Couples

Fewer and fewer people are getting married in England and Wales and are choosing instead to live in a cohabiting relationship. What many couples do not understand is that the concept of a “common law marriage” does not exist. The financial rights and obligations available to married couples do not apply to cohabiting couples.  If you want to avoid future issues, either at the point of deciding to live with your partner, or once you have moved in together to regulate how you arrange your finances, we can assist you in preparing a cohabitation agreement to set out your intentions. Alternatively, your relationship might be about to, or has just broken down. As a result of the very common misconceptions about the law in these circumstances, many people can find themselves at a huge financial disadvantage because they were expecting a different financial outcome or inadvertently ‘trusted’ that they would get something at the end of the relationship. Perhaps you have a dispute relating to a property owned in joint names, or perhaps your partner owns a property which you had thought was going to be for the both of you but in which you have no legal interest.  Perhaps you have spent significant time and money renovating your family home but it is not in joint names, but you are now separating and you have nothing in place to protect you. If this is something you believe might apply to you (or vice versa), we can give you comprehensive and clear advice regarding possible claims.