Unmarried Couples' Rights

Services in: Unmarried Couples' Rights

If you're in an unmarried couple and your relationship breaks down, you won't have the same rights as people who are married or in a civil partnership. This means that if you decide to separate you don’t automatically have the right to share in each other’s finances and property.

Whether you're moving in together or just planning for the future, it's a good idea to seek legal advice from our family law solicitors. There are steps you can take to give yourself certainty and avoid potential unfairness.

We can help you to work through and formalise your arrangements in a separation agreement. This sets out how you will split your finances, assets and childcare arrangements.

If you're considering moving in with your partner without getting married, we could help you put together a cohabitation agreement. This clarifies:

Who owns what, including your home, joint bank accounts and belongings
How payment of household bills is to be divided
Maintenance payments for any children, including school fees and payments for housing.

Cohabitation agreements can be legally binding and enforceable, giving you peace of mind and security. We've particular expertise in relationships where one or both parties has significant wealth or owns property overseas.

If you need further advice on rights for unmarried couples, please contact us to speak with one of our experts. Call us or contact us online and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Our team can also advise and represent you if there is a dispute as to ownership of property with your ex-partner and wish to make a Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act (TOLATA) claim. Similarly, if your partner brings a TOLATA claim against you, we can provide clear advice and defend your interests.

How can Irwin Mitchell’s solicitors help with unmarried couples’ rights?

Experts and no-nonsense approach

We're widely recognised as one of the UK's leading family law teams. We're accredited by independent legal guides Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500, so are well placed to guide you through the legal process.

Working with you, our solicitors can advise you on your situation and take you through every step of the process. Our no-nonsense approach will ensure you understand your options and feel comfortable with every decision you make.

We’ve recently acquired the specialist family law firm, Silk Family Law. Their in-depth knowledge has now been brought to our established family law team, giving us an even greater level of legal expertise.

Wide range of services

We offer a wide range of services across our firm and can connect you with other teams that could be of help to you. These teams include:

Child arrangements – if you and your partner have children, our solicitors can help you with issues such as with which parent the children live, and how regularly they spend time with the other parent
Conveyancing & property – if you need help with selling your property, buying a new one, or remortgaging your home, our property solicitors can help
Wills – you may need to alter your Will after the ending of your relationship. Our specialist Wills team can give you tailored advice on this, or help you to create a Will from scratch if you haven’t already made one
Counselling – we understand that this can be an emotional time for you. Our in-house counsellor Vicky Lambert offers up to four free counselling sessions, where you can process your emotions. These sessions can be used at any point in the process, with the option of further paid sessions if you need them.

UK offices

We appreciate that different people like to work with their solicitors in different ways, and we do all we can to work in the best way for you. We’ve offices located around the UK, so you can travel to your local office for a comfortable and private chat with your solicitor. If it’s easier for you, we can organise video or phone calls to communicate that way.

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More Information - Unmarried Couples' Rights

It's important to work out whether you have parental responsibility if you're in an unmarried relationship and are separating.

Parental responsibility gives you the legal right to make decisions about issues such as your child’s education, religion, and medical treatment, as well as taking your child out of the country, regardless of how long this is for. It also means you must consult with – or be consulted on such decisions by - the other legal parent.

Unmarried mothers automatically have parental responsibility for a child from birth, but fathers or partners may not. Our expert lawyers will be able to advise you on this and what your options are.

Once you've established parental responsibility, you'll need to agree on a range of issues with your partner regarding your children. These can include:

Who the child lives with – and whether they can relocate within England and Wales, or internationally
Arrangements for the other parent to spend time with the child, including how regularly and for how long. This can include arrangements for video or telephone calls as well as other indirect contact between the parent and child.
Child maintenance arrangements – this may include issues such as school fees etc.

In certain cases, the parent with care of the children can seek a court order. This requires the other parent to allow the parent with care to remain living in their home, so that the child has a home, until the child reaches the age of 18. At that point the property once again becomes the property of the other parent.

We believe it's best to reach an agreement out of court wherever possible. Our trained negotiators and mediators can support you and your partner to agree a settlement that suits everyone.

We also understand that an agreement isn't always possible. If you need a court to decide on all of the issues above, our experienced lawyers will support you every step of the way.

Every situation is different, which is why you need an experienced legal team which has helped lead, change, and challenge UK family law. If you'd like to discuss your circumstances and see how we can help you, call us or get in touch online and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

The term “common law marriage” is legally recognised in some countries, but not in the UK. So, if you and your partner are unmarried, even if you have lived together for several years, this doesn’t constitute any form of legally binding equivalent to marriage.

If you and your partner break up, you may find it more difficult to divide up your property and financial assets compared with a married couple. For example:

You'll have no access to your partner's bank accounts, unless they’re joint accounts
If you separate and don't close a joint account, your partner will be able to access the funds and could run up debts you're responsible for
Housing arrangements can become difficult, unless the accommodation is in your joint names
Given that you’ve no legal duty to support your partner, voluntary maintenance agreements may be difficult to enforce.

If you're joint owners of a property, you may have to come to an agreement about how to divide your interests in that property. If just one of you rents or legally owns the property you live in, the legal owner or tenant can ask their partner to leave. Challenging property ownership, where the property is held in the sole name of only one party, can be challenging and complex and can lead to lengthy court proceedings. That said, in most cases it pays to discuss these issues calmly as you may be able to come to an amicable agreement.

It’s important to seek legal advice as soon as possible. Our lawyers can advise you in respect of the law governing property ownership and help you draw up a separation agreement that sets out how you'll divide your shared assets and who's responsible for outstanding debts. It doesn't affect your ability to get back together with your partner at a later date, so it's worth considering even for a trial period of separation.

If you're living or thinking about moving in with your partner, you can consider a cohabitation agreement. This sets out how you and your partner will live together and who's responsible for what regarding your finances. It might not sound romantic, but it can give you security and peace of mind.

For more advice on rights for unmarried couples, call our family law solicitors today. We've decades of experience in resolving complex issues, advising you in a clear way so you know exactly what your options are.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if we’re an unmarried couple with debts?

Any debts in your name are your responsibility, and any debts in your partner's name are their responsibility.

Issues can occur when debts – such as an overdraft on a joint bank account, bank loan or mortgage – have been accrued in both your names.

You both have joint responsibility for the entire debt in such cases. It isn’t a case that each of you is responsible for only 50% each. If one person fails to pay their share, then this may leave the other liable for the remainder. If you decide to break up, it's important that you come to a quick agreement about how these will be paid, to avoid defaulting on any liabilities. Without this formal agreement, your partner could continue to run up debts that you're jointly liable for.

It's important to seek legal advice as soon as possible. We've years of experience supporting unmarried couples who are separating, helping them reach satisfactory agreements.

To find out more or get advice on any other aspect of family law, call us or contact us online and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Is my unmarried partner entitled to half my house?

An unmarried partner can’t automatically claim entitlement to half of your house if it’s solely in your name.

If your partner is living with you but the house isn’t in their name, they’ll have no automatic entitlement to stay there. However, they may still have a right to the property if they can prove that they substantially contributed towards things like:

The deposit to buy the property
Mortgage payments
Rent
Household bills.

It’s necessary to provide evidence that there was a common intention that ownership of the property was to be shared, or that the owner informed, or allowed the other party to believe that they’d an interest in the property and that they acted to their detriment in reliance upon that.

The partner who doesn’t own the property can also apply to the court for an “Occupation Order”. This would allow that party to remain in the property on a temporary basis, although this wouldn’t provide any financial rights over the property.

If you bought your home jointly with your partner, and both your names are on the title, you’ll both usually be entitled to stay living there. In most cases, you’ll also be entitled to half the value of the house if you decide to sell it. Although it’s important that your lawyer makes enquiries to clarify the terms of ownership, as it’s not necessarily the case that properties are owned 50/50.

You may be entitled to make a Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act (TOLATA) claim if you and your partner lived in a property together, held in your partner’s sole name. Similarly, we can provide you with clear advice and represent you in TOLATA claims and protect your interests if a claim is brought against you.

Can Irwin Mitchell help unmarried couples who live in Scotland?

Yes, we can help you if you’re an unmarried couple living in Scotland. Whatever issue you may be facing, we work with several trusted partners and legal experts in Scotland.

We’ll be your main point of contact and will make sure you’re fully informed throughout the process. Contact us today to tell us how we can help you.

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