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Unmarried couples do not have the same legal rights as married couples or those in civil partnerships. Married couples have far better protection with regards to property and finances etc. when a dispute arises.

Property

When married, even if one party owns the property, as you are a married couple the other ‘non-owning’ party has matrimonial home rights which means they can continue to occupy the property despite not being on the title deeds or putting money towards the house.

However, when cohabiting couples are not married, we look to the law of trusts. Where both parties have a beneficial interest in the property such as they both own it 50/50 then the law would state that the property be split 50/50 and that is the matter resolved. However, this is often not the case if someone has put more into the property than the other via deposits or renovations for example. It is therefore advised, when purchasing a property with another person, that a declaration of trust is drafted to demonstrate how much each party has put into the house and what each party’s intention is with the house in case they separate.

Where one party is the sole owner of a property and the other party is simply cohabiting then as long as the other party has no beneficial interest in the property such as they have not paid anything towards the mortgage payments nor have they put money towards the house via renovations, they have no right to access the property. In these circumstances, we would often advise couples to have a cohabitation agreement drafted as this can detail both parties’ intentions from the outset, to reduce the risk of the ‘non-owning’ party arguing a beneficial interest if they do not have one. However, it is important to note if one party does decide to assist in the mortgage payments or renovations then again, we would advise you include this in the Cohabitation Agreement to protect both parties in the event of splitting up.

Financial Support

Under common law, married couples have a right to financial support from their spouse during their lifetime. Unmarried couples do not have this same right and therefore there is no legal obligation from one partner to the other to provide for one another no matter how long they have been together or cohabited etc.

Children

In circumstances where there are children involved, there is a financial obligation on parents to provide for their child. Therefore, in circumstances where parties are unmarried but have children together, the resident parent would be looking for child maintenance payments from the other parent. This can be enforced through the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) in the majority of cases, otherwise it may be necessary to seek financial provision for a child through the Court. This type of court application falls under Schedule 1 of the Children Act which allows parents to request further payments on top of the maintenance they are receiving under CMS (where applicable) to assist with payments for the children, such as housing, school fees etc.

If you would like more information about how our award winning family solicitors can work with you with regards to your cohabiting relationship or to discuss matters concerning your children, you can contact us on 0113 322 9222 or enquires@consilialegal.co.uk.