Under plans put forward by the Ministry of Justice, people in cohabitating relationships would benefit from the same rules of intestacy as civil partners and those who are married. Currently, unmarried couples have no legal claim to their partner’s estate if their partner dies without a will.
The new framework would also see individual’s given the right to claim a portion of proceeds from property sales when a cohabiting relationship ends. To be eligible for the new rights, cohabitating couples would have to lived together for at least three years or have a child.
A spokesperson at the Marriage Foundation, said: “The Government proposal will discourage committment and increase family breakdown.”
A spokesperson at the International Family Law group said the new rights “will improve clarity, fairness and protection for cohabitating families”