When a marriage ends, matrimonial law steps in to protect both parties. Matrimonial law offers rights to shared assets, pensions and financial provision where appropriate. But for cohabiting couples, the story is very different - there is no automatic entitlement to shared assets. Instead, partners must navigate complex property and trust law.

This gap in protection is widely seen as outdated. Cohabitation is now one of the fastest-growing family structures and calls for reform have grown louder. The Law Commission’s 2024 report on financial remedies offered four potential models for change to be based on, sparking hope that the law would finally catch up with modern relationships. Nearly a year on progress has stalled, and the Ministry of Justice has announced their reform consultation will not be published until spring. 

Their reasoning was to ensure that any change implemented was not ‘piecemeal’. The Lords seek to look at the cohabitation scheme against the wider backdrop of financial remedy law for married couples. However reforming cohabitation law can be done independently without undermining consistency; in fact, delaying it risks creating more injustice than the piecemeal approach the Lords seeks to avoid. Simply affording cohabiting couples the same rights that married couples do on relationship breakdown would reduce the inequality that cohabitants continue to face. 

Until reform arrives, understanding your legal position is crucial. Living together does not afford you the same rights as divorcees on marital breakdown. To understand more on this topic and learn how to protect yourself, please do not hesitate to get on contact with a member of the family team.