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
Showing posts with label unmarried couples. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unmarried couples. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Family breakdown on the increase
A report has been published highlighting the increase in the breakdown of the relationships of cohabiting couples with children.
The report states that half of all children born today will see their parents separate before they reach the age of 16 and that unmarried couples account for 59% of family break ups. There are suggestions that couples should be encouraged to marry, thus strengthening the commitment to the relationship and reducing the likelihood of a family breakdown, which in turn would affect the children of such a relationship.
At Hart Brown, we deal with the many issues that can arise concerning children following the breakdown of a relationship and often, such issues can be distressing to all those concerned.
Should more couples be encouraged to marry in order to try to reduce the level of family breakdowns? Let us know what you think.
Article:-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1336318/Half-children-parents-split-reach-age-16.html
Anne Thomas, Legal Executive, Family Department, Hart Brown
The report states that half of all children born today will see their parents separate before they reach the age of 16 and that unmarried couples account for 59% of family break ups. There are suggestions that couples should be encouraged to marry, thus strengthening the commitment to the relationship and reducing the likelihood of a family breakdown, which in turn would affect the children of such a relationship.
At Hart Brown, we deal with the many issues that can arise concerning children following the breakdown of a relationship and often, such issues can be distressing to all those concerned.
Should more couples be encouraged to marry in order to try to reduce the level of family breakdowns? Let us know what you think.
Article:-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1336318/Half-children-parents-split-reach-age-16.html
Anne Thomas, Legal Executive, Family Department, Hart Brown
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