Millions of couples live together as cohabiting partners and many believe that they are entitled to the same rights as married couples under 'common law marriage'. However, common law marriage is a myth and unless you are married, or in a same sex civil partnership then the law does not recognise your rights.
What Are the Current Laws?
When it comes to the rights of cohabiting couples, in the eyes of the law, there aren't any. Partners do not have any automatic rights to maintenance or claims on the property or assets if they split up. If one partner dies then the estate does not automatically pass to the surviving partner. In fact, unless there is a legal cohabitation agreement or a will, then the surviving partner will be treated the same as a friend or housemate, however long they have been together.
The courts treat divorcing couples and unmarried partners who split up very differently. On divorce, the courts have wide powers to redistribute property regardless of ownership, and the homemaker's contribution is valued as highly as the breadwinner's. But where a cohabiting couple live in a home in only one partner's name, the presumption or starting point is that the other partner is not entitled to a share at all.
How can co-habiting couples protect themselves?
As cohabitees the law relating to your property on the breakdown of your relationship is different to that applied if you were married. How the net proceeds of the sale of your property are divided depends on whether you hold your property with your partner as Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common.
If you and your partner were to separate and there was a dispute as to how assets and equity should be divided, the Courts would first look at how the property is held. If it’s held as Joint Tenants, there is an automatic assumption that the net equity of the property should be divided equally. If the property is held as Tenants in Common it allows for the argument to be made that the net equity of the property should be divided in un-equal shares in line with the contributions made towards its acquisition. The percentage ownership can be quantified in a trust deed.
So get smart….
Unmarried couples need to draw up a living together agreement spelling out property shares. This records the basis of your living arrangements and will be used by the court to analyse what your intentions were at the time of purchase. This may be very difficult advice for the love-struck couple who think nothing will ever go wrong, but by having one, you can potentially save thousands of pounds and huge amounts of grief and bitterness if the relationship breaks down. So if you are currently living with your partner or considering buying a property together, call Valerie Cooper or Sam Mabey for an initial discussion.
