Cohabitation

Summary

Despite popular belief, there is no such thing as a common law marriage in England and Wales. It doesn't matter how long you live together, cohabiting couples get hardly any rights automatically. But there are things you can do to give each other rights and protect each other, whatever the future may hold. Make a living together agreement (also called a cohabitation agreement) and a will. All cohabiting couples should have a cohabitation agreement. Our guide explains how it is a brilliant way to protect yourself and your partner, guides you through all the decisions you need to make in advance, and then shows you how to make an agreement yourselves - quickly and easily. Save £££s on solcitors fees - and support a charity at the same time! Getting free one-to-one advice about family law is hard. All advice services are extremely busy. We are here to help everyone who cannot get in at an advice service and cannot afford to pay for legal help. We give you the knowledge, confidence, and skills you need to deal with the issue yourself, or with the help of friends or family. If you need more help than you can get from our advice guides, we explain how to try to find advice.

Key information

• Despite popular belief, there is no such thing as a common law marriage in England and Wales. It doesn't matter how long you live together, cohabiting couples get hardly any rights automatically.
• But there are things you can do to give each other rights and protect each other, whatever the future may hold. Make a living together agreement (also called a cohabitation agreement) and a will.
• Information Moving in together Understand what rights you will and won’t have as a common law partner and what you both need to know from the start.  Information Make a living together agreement All cohabiting couples should have a cohabitation agreement. Make one yourselves cheaply and easily.  Information Living with a partner and benefits Find out what counts as living together for benefits purposes and the impact of someone moving in, or out. 
• Information Home ownership and living together The choice you make (or made) about who does or doesn’t own the home could make a huge difference if you split up or if one of you dies. Understand your rights and your options now. 
• Information Parental responsibility Most, but not all parents have 'parental responsibility' for their children. Sometimes step-parents need it too. Understand how to get it if you don't have it. 
• Information Living together and breaking up Understand your rights and what you need to think about so that you don’t get tripped up by loose ends. 
• All cohabiting couples should have a cohabitation agreement. Our guide explains how it is a brilliant way to protect yourself and your partner, guides you through all the decisions you need to make in advance, and then shows you how to make an agreement yourselves - quickly and easily. Save £££s on solcitors fees - and support a charity at the same time!
• Getting free one-to-one advice about family law is hard. All advice services are extremely busy. We are here to help everyone who cannot get in at an advice service and cannot afford to pay for legal help.
• We give you the knowledge, confidence, and skills you need to deal with the issue yourself, or with the help of friends or family. If you need more help than you can get from our advice guides, we explain how to try to find advice.

Practical guidance

• Source: Cohabitation

Related topics

More in this area

• Divorce Financial Settlements: Your Guide To A Fair Settlement
• Home ownership and living together
• Inheritance claim if you are left out of a will
• Registering a civil partnership
• Should The Law on Cohabitation Be Reformed?