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Cohabitees 'should' enjoy new rights
01/08/2007
The Law Commission has recommended that people who have cohabited and then split up should be given the same rights as married couples who divorce.
If implemented, it could mean that cohabitees in Britain and Northern Ireland would be able to claim equivalent treatment if they had been living together in the long-term or had children together out of wedlock. Although ministers would have to set a period of cohabiting, the Law Commission has suggested that a period of between two and five years would be appropriate.
As divorcees currently have the right to, partners would be able to ask for lump sum settlements, the right to stay on in a shared home and even a share of their partner's pension in some cases, the Commission recommends.
The only thing that unmarried couples would not be able to claim would be maintenance payments and their claimant rights would not kick in automatically. Also, as many solicitors will know, divorcing couples can split family assets, a practice that is not recommended by the commission in principle. Moreover partners would have to prove that they had suffered financial disadvantages through the relationship, such as if they had had to give up work to rear children.
Stuart Bridge, the law commissioner responsible for the reforms, said that currently the law is not fair to cohabitees. "We consider that our scheme strikes the right balance between the need to alleviate hardship and the need to protect couples' freedom of choice," he said.
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If implemented, it could mean that cohabitees in Britain and Northern Ireland would be able to claim equivalent treatment if they had been living together in the long-term or had children together out of wedlock. Although ministers would have to set a period of cohabiting, the Law Commission has suggested that a period of between two and five years would be appropriate.
As divorcees currently have the right to, partners would be able to ask for lump sum settlements, the right to stay on in a shared home and even a share of their partner's pension in some cases, the Commission recommends.
The only thing that unmarried couples would not be able to claim would be maintenance payments and their claimant rights would not kick in automatically. Also, as many solicitors will know, divorcing couples can split family assets, a practice that is not recommended by the commission in principle. Moreover partners would have to prove that they had suffered financial disadvantages through the relationship, such as if they had had to give up work to rear children.
Stuart Bridge, the law commissioner responsible for the reforms, said that currently the law is not fair to cohabitees. "We consider that our scheme strikes the right balance between the need to alleviate hardship and the need to protect couples' freedom of choice," he said.
Contact us for legal advice
