Major change is being made for millions of unmarried couples living together
Major changes for unmarried couples who live together could be on the horizon in the United Kingdom.
In a major shift from your grandparents' hay days, there has been a significant increase in long-term couples living together without officially tying the knot.
Yet, there's a lot more to marriage than a stag do in Benidorm and reluctantly spending eye-watering sums on catering, photographers and flowers, as it offers protection under the law in the event of death or separation.
There are now over three-and-a-half million couples cohabiting in the UK without being married or in a civil partnership, but the country's rules currently offer them no protection, with property rights proving particularly tricky when a relationship ends.
Advert
Unmarried couples currently have no automatic legal right to inherit from a deceased partner, no matter how long they have lived together, and assets are not shared in the event of a break-up... Leaving people with nothing.
However, that could soon change.
The government launched a consultation on June 5, before Keir Starmer resigned as Prime Minister, that aims to build a new family law that covers those couples.
A lawyer has now explained how those new laws could work in practice.
How these proposed new laws for unmarried couples would work
Lawyer Gary Rycroft appeared on BBC Morning Live to lay out why the changes in law are needed and how they would benefit the millions of couples who currently have no legal rights.
“The law is a bit of a blunt instrument," he explained. "You’re either married or in a civil partnership, or you’re not. And if you’re not, it can have an unfair result.
"If your partner dies, you don’t automatically inherit. Or if you separate, you don’t automatically share the asset. So this consultation is trying to address that injustice.
“It’s trying to put in place a safety net, really, for people who find themselves in that position.
"They find themselves sadly with their partner of long-standing having died. They don’t automatically inherit or they find themselves splitting up and they’re not sharing assets."
Under the proposal, eligibility would be limited to adults who are in 'long‑term, committed and interdependent relationships', who have lived together for at least three years or share a child.
The importance of new laws for those in abusive relationships
Rycroft went on to explain how crucial the new laws could be for people who find themselves 'trapped' in abusive relationships, who may find it challenging to leave due to financial reasons.
He said: For some people, splitting up can be a very difficult situation if they are in a relationship that is abusive or there’s some kind of economic control going on, some kind of coercive control.
"In fact, Women’s Aid found in 2024 in a report that they published that it can cost about £50,000 to actually leave your partner and set up home again.
“And actually, in a different report, it was said that up to three-quarters of women said that they weren’t going to leave their partner because of the financial consequences.
"And of course, financial abuse occurs with men and women. It’s not just about women as well.
"So, we want to put in place a kind of safety net for people who find themselves trapped in a situation. And surely that’s going to be a good thing if if people are free to live the lives that they want to live.”
The consultation will run for 10 weeks before closing on August 14, with the government inviting views from the public, legal professionals, academics, charities and other stakeholders.
The consultation document can be read here.
Topics: Money, UK News, Sex and Relationships
Daniel Murphy