The president of the Family Division of the High Court, Sir Nicholas Wall has called for legal rights to be given to unmarried couples should they separate.
It is a common misconception that couples who are unmarried and simply live together have a ‘common law’ marriage and therefore the same rights as married couples, but this is not the case.
If a cohabiting couple separate, they do not have claims for maintenance or claims against the other’s capital or pensions in the same way that a married couple do. If a cohabiting couple own a property together, the law on which they rely to decide how to deal with that property is complex and based on trust law.
The lawyers at Hart Brown are able to assist unmarried couples and would recommend that if considering living with a partner, a cohabitation agreement is entered into to clarify matters.
Do you think that unmarried couples should have the same rights as married couples so that one party is not at a disadvantage? Or do you think that such laws would undermine marriage? Let us have your comments below.
Link to the article:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12352200
Anne Thomas, Legal Executive, Hart Brown
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