Before beginning to live together outside of marriage or a registered civil partnership we would urge you to take legal advice especially if:
This is because the consequence of relationship breakdown can be unexpected and seem unfair if you are not clear as to your legal rights before you enter the relationship.
However long you live together in a relationship with a partner does not change the nature of that legal relationship. The law that applies if you separate after a period of living together is the same law whether you have been living together for three months or thirty years.
The common law of property and trusts applies to property rights between couples who choose not to marry or register their relationship. On separation, a partner will only recover what they already own. There is no power to readjust shares as on divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership. There are no duties to maintain the other partner.
Property and trust law is complex. You will require legal advice. The quality of evidence in such cases is important if a non owning partner is going to establish a share in property which has not been agreed at the beginning of the relationship. If you have children, the Children Act 1989 does provide that financial claims may be made on behalf of children to secure accommodation, lump sums or additional maintenance. It may be appropriate to take such action, especially where the parent caring for the children has few property rights of his or her own.
The legal procedures for property claims and Children Act claims are different and two sets of court actions may be required, which are then run concurrently. Litigation of any sort is expensive and it is important to always keep costs proportionate to the likely benefits. As with married couples, mediation, collaborative law and joint meetings are useful alternatives to court action and may well be more cost effective.
