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Nicki Mitchell
Legal Features Writer
2:00 AM 20th August 2022
family

Why Action Is Needed Now To Protect Cohabiting Couples

 
Image by Denise Husted from Pixabay
Image by Denise Husted from Pixabay
We welcome the news that a scheme proposed by the Law Commission 15 years ago to financially assist cohabiting couples could finally be introduced.

A cross-party group of MPs is calling for the proposals to support couples who have lived together for a specific number of years - or have had a child together - to be given the green light.

As the Government considers its response, the number of cohabiting couples continues to rocket from 1.5 million in 1996 to 3.6 million in 2021.

While they remain the fastest growing family type in Britain, unlike married couples, they do not have any legal protection or rights if their relationship breaks down.

These rights span savings, income, pensions and business interests and property with mortgage applications rocketing since the Covid pandemic lockdown when more couples moved in together for practical and financial reasons.

As a long-standing campaigner of reforms to protect cohabiting couples, we have lobbied MPs at Parliament to support the campaign for reform for cohabiting couples spearheaded by Family law group Resolution.

We urge unmarried partners to protect themselves with a cohabitation or ‘living together’ agreement which sets out what they want to happen - both while they live together and if their relationship ends.

The agreement can clarify who owns what and in what proportion as well as how property will be divided and what will happen with personal belongings, savings, debts, pensions, and other assets on separation.

Agreements can also document how children will be supported, how to deal with bank accounts, debts, and joint purchases (such as a house or car) and pet ‘custody’ issues.

The agreement can be drafted before or during a couple’s time together. It can also be altered – if both parties concur that the original agreement should be changed, and how.

Agreeing in writing the ‘what if’ scenarios should one partner leave, win the lottery or die can potentially save emotional and financial trauma at a later stage.

The arrangement, which is enforceable, can be set up through ‘round-table’ meetings within the collaborative process and can avoid the likelihood of cohabitees, particularly those with children, being left destitute.

It is important that the couple seek independent legal advice and disclose all financial information in the lead up to signing the agreement, which should be reviewed regularly.

Nicki Mitchell is a Partner at Jones Myers family law firm.