Unmarried and Separating, What Are My Rights?

Although the term ‘common law’ wife/husband has often been used in the past to describe someone who has lived with their partner for a number of years, you may be surprised to hear that in England and Wales this is not a legal term. If you have been living with your partner but not married, in legal terms you have been ‘cohabiting’.

People who have cohabited are not covered by the same legislation as those who have married or entered into a civil partnership, and consequently they do not have automatic rights to claim against the other if the relationship breaks down. For example you cannot make a financial claim for support for yourself or against your ex-partner’s pension.

You may however have a right to make claims of an income nature in relation to any shared children and, if you are the primary carer, you will be entitled to receive child maintenance payments from the other party calculated in accordance with the Child Maintenance Service guidelines.

Property

For cohabiting couples, who are unmarried and separating, the default position is that each party gets to keep their own property or documented share of any jointly owned property.

If you co-own your property you will be either ‘joint tenants’ or ‘tenants in common’, and this will be recorded at HM Land Registry. If you are ‘joint tenants’, you will be entitled to half the value of the property. If you are ‘tenants in common’ the percentage ownership that you are entitled to will have been recorded when you purchased the property. If either party has contributed financially to the property since purchase then the percentage ownership could be disputed and shares determined by each party’s financial contribution.

If the family home is solely in your partner’s name then you have no automatic right to a share in it unless you can prove that:

• you made a direct financial contribution to the property, eg helping pay for the mortgage regularly every month or funding renovations
• during the relationship you agreed with your partner that you would receive a percentage of the property

If your partner owns the property, you are unmarried and separating, and you are primarily responsible for any children that you and your partner share, then you may choose to request that the property be transferred to the children, or that you receive a payment to help provide for the children’s needs as a result of you having to move to a new property. In some circumstances you may be able to apply to court for these financial provisions for the children if they are under 18.

We understand that separating from a partner can be a very difficult time, and if expectations for a financial separation have been based on legislation for couples who are married or in a civil partnership then this can greatly increase the levels of stress that you experience. It is advisable to discuss your situation with a solicitor at the earliest opportunity to determine what are the most appropriate options for your individual situation. Call us on Bingley 01274 723858,  Ilkley 01943 601173 or Bradford 01274 735511 and book your FREE, no obligation initial consultation.