Sadly, none. There is no legal concept of the common law wife or husband in English law. This means couples who cohabit have fewer legal rights than those who are married when they separate. The length of the relationship makes no difference, which can lead to great unfairness. Cohabitees obligations to their partner will depend on Land, Contract and Trust law.
A home can be owned either as Joint tenants or Tenants in Common, this is a very important distinction if a couple separate or one of them dies.
Joint tenants means that each of the owners (and there can be more than two) has an equal share in the value of the property. If one owner dies their share does not pass under the terms of their Will but automatically to the remaining owner. If the home is sold then each party gets an equal share of the net proceeds.
Tenants in common means that each party has a defined share in the value of the home. Typically this is an equal share but it can be unequal. If the intention is to have unequal shares then it is prudent to have a written Trust document settling out the details; these can be more complicated than first thought. Each owner can leave their share in the home to pass under their Will.
Where a home is held as joint tenants and one party wishes to change to hold it as tenants in common then they can serve a Notice of Severance. It is important to register the change with the Land Registry.
Much depends on why the home is one party’s name, whether it was intended to be a joint home and whether the non-owning party contributed towards the cost of the home to their detriment. The law can infer from words and conduct that a property is held on trust and can declare how the value in a home can be divided; these are referred to as resulting trustsand constructive trusts. If promises of joint ownership were made and a person acting to their detriment in reliance on those promises, then the law can stop the maker of the promise from going back on their word; this is called proprietary estoppel. These are very complex legal concepts; how the law is applied depends a great deal on the facts in each case. Often good cases faulter due to a lack of documentary evidence.
Sadly no, unlike married couples there is no obligation to pay maintenance on separation. However, child maintenance can be claimed and applications made under Children Act, schedule 1 to benefit a child, see child maintenance.
There are now more and more couples living together who are not married both with and without children. Whilst there are some legal structures in place to provide protection for cohabiting parties, the best way to ensure you are protected in the event of a relationship breakdown is to have a cohabitation agreement. This could ensure that you are able to continue living in your house while your children are under 21 or provide the mechanisms for paying bills and the like.
Cohabitation agreements are also useful where parties are entering new relationships and want to secure their pre-owned assets, for example where it is intended assets will pass to children of a previous relationship, or for younger couples where contributions have been made by parents towards a house purchase.
A nuptial agreement is a contract entered into by spouses or civil partners to regulate the ownership of money, property, assets and responsibility of debt.
The Ministry of Justice has said the increasing court fees said to be vital to ongoing court work for all those who seek justice, however,
No more unreasonable behaviour petitions, no more adultery petitions. As from April 2022, couples who want to divorce and then co-parent on an amicable basis
How does the court calculate child maintenance? The starting point for calculating child maintenance payments will always be the CMS formula. This formula applies on
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© Gordons Partnership is the trading name of Gordons Partnership 2020 Limited a company registered in England & Wales (Company Number 12464371).
Registered office is at First Floor, 1 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1LF. VAT No: GB 629 857 388 - Site by WBJ Designs
