The Myth of Common Law Marriage

If you live with someone but are not their spouse or civil partner, you have few legal rights if they were to die or if you were to separate. The phrase 'common-law marriage' is well-known, but it simply does not exist. If you are not married, in the eyes of the law there is no special relationship - you will not be considered as the equivalent of a husband/wife, even if you have children or lived together for many years.

Also, some couples who married abroad discover that their marriage is not recognised under English law and they find themselves in the same boat as cohabitants. This happened to Jerry Hall when she found out, to her cost, that her elaborate marriage ceremony on a beach in Bali was not recognised in England; she therefore never legally became Mrs Jagger.

Unmarried partners face the following problems should one of them die:

• the law makes no provision for the bereaved person to inherit from their partner
• the surviving partner is not exempt from Inheritance Tax as a spouse/civil partner would be
• to receive anything at all, the surviving partner may have to go to court to show that they co-owned assets (in some cases paid for by both partners but owned in one name only).

Family & Matrimonial Partner at Frettens, Ianthe Slinger, advises couples that there is an easy and inexpensive solution to this problem: to make a cohabitation agreement. She says “This is a contract between two people who live together; it sets out their agreement of the division of their combined assets. It is sensible when living with anyone, without the protection of a marriage or a civil partnership, to make a cohabitation agreement so that ‘who owns what’ is clear. This is not only important if a relationship breaks down, but also if one of the partners dies. If you cohabit with someone and are concerned about the problems that might arise, contact us for down to earth and friendly advice.”

Contact Ianthe Slinger on 01202 499255.  Frettens provide a full range of specialised legal services to private and commercial clients, with a modern, common sense approach.