New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown that cohabitation is the UK’s fastest-growing family type, with the number of unmarried couples who live together, have increased by more than a quarter in the last 10 years.
This means that the number of couples forming cohabiting relationships is now greater than the number of couples getting married.
In total, there are now 3.4 million cohabiting families in the UK, up from 2.7 million in 2008.
However, while the number of cohabiting couples has grown rapidly, the law has not kept pace with the change and cohabiting couples are at a major disadvantage in comparison to their married counterparts in several areas.
This includes the lack of provision for an equitable division of property on the breakdown of the relationship and disadvantages in regards to inheritance and bereavement benefits.
The myth of ‘common law marriage’ is widely blamed for cohabiting couples being unaware of the legal disadvantage they are at, with many believing that they automatically acquire equivalent rights to those enjoyed by married couples. Research has shown that 46 per cent of people in England and Wales believe that ‘common law marriage’ exists.
Surjit Verdi, a Partner and head of Palmers’ Family Law team, said: “Anyone who lives together, without marrying or entering into a Civil Partnership Agreement, is a ‘cohabitee’ and the law is the same, regardless of whether you have lived together for two months or 20 years.
“Putting in place a cohabitation agreement can give both parties some certainty in the event that one party dies or the relationship breaks down.
“However, a cohabitation agreement should not be relied on alone. It is particularly important that cohabiting couples have Wills in place as the rules of intestacy, which dictate the distribution of an estate where no Will has been made, do not take cohabitation into account.
“Where no Will has been made, the surviving partner can find themselves embroiled in time-consuming and costly legal processes, or even end up receiving nothing from the estate.”
To find out more about cohabitation agreements, please contact us.