This creates a lesser risk than leaving couples to opt in; failure to do so disadvantaging only the financially weaker party.
England and Wales lag behind the majority of civilised legal jurisdictions with no rights for cohabiting partners on relationship breakdown. In Scotland, cohabitants may make limited claims against each other either when their relationship breaks down or when a partner dies.
In Northern Ireland, cohabitants have legal protection in some areas, but they have fewer rights and responsibilities than couples who have married or formed a civil partnership.
Tie the knot
I personally know of an unmarried partner of two decades’ standing, locked out of her home by the heirs and executors “to protect the assets”, and where a partner lost 50 per cent of the worth of a house on the death of his partner on intestacy to a distant relative.
These are just two shameful incidents where the current law makes a mockery of justice.
Don’t wait decades for more law reform. Advise your clients in longstanding relationships that a quick, pragmatic trip to the Registry Office for around £200 to £400, with just a couple of witnesses, might be simpler than the complexities of cohabitation (even if a traditional big wedding doesn’t appeal).
Beware of the possibility of predatory marriage, particularly in later life. But that’s a topic for another day.
In the meantime, politician and advisers, don’t kick the plight of cohabitees on break-up into the long grass.
Stephanie Hawthorne is a freelance journalist
