This is a question we hear a lot – especially from couples who’ve been together for years, share a home, or have children together.
The short answer is no. In England and Wales, unmarried couples don’t have the same automatic legal rights as married couples or civil partners. For many people, that comes as a surprise.
There’s also a common belief that if you live together long enough, you become “common law husband and wife”. Unfortunately, that simply isn’t true. There’s no such legal status, no matter how committed the relationship might be.
What’s the Difference in Practice?
When married couples separate, the law looks at everything together – finances, property, pensions, income and future needs. Each person has an automatic claim to a share of what’s been built up during the marriage.
For unmarried couples, it works very differently. If the relationship ends, there’s no automatic right to your partner’s money or property. Most disputes come down to ownership – whose name is on what, who paid for what, and what was agreed at the time.
That can feel unfair, particularly where one person has given up work, contributed to a home they don’t legally own, or stayed at home with children. But under the current law, those factors do’’t carry the same weight if you’re not married.
So What Does That Mean in Real Life?
Living together for a long time doesn’t give you a claim to your partner’s assets. If the relationship ends, there’s also no automatic right to financial support for yourself – child maintenance is dealt with separately.
Even where something is owned together, it isn’t always divided equally. A court might look at who actually paid for what, or how money was used, rather than starting from a clean 50/50 split.
If one partner dies without a will, that can cause problems too. Unmarried partners don’t automatically inherit, and dealing with that at an already emotional time can be really tough.
Because of this, disagreements after separation often turn into arguments about property ownership rather than wider financial fairness.
How Unmarried Couples Can Protect Themselves
The good news is that many of these risks can be reduced with some forward planning. You don’t have to get married to protect yourself – but you do need to be clear and practical.
That might involve making sure property ownership reflects contributions, putting a declaration of trust in place, or entering into a cohabitation agreement. Wills are also essential, as unmarried partners don’t automatically inherit, and it’s worth checking pension nominations too.
Even everyday things like loans, credit cards and mortgages matter. If debt is joint, you may be responsible for the full amount if the other person doesn’t pay.
It’s not particularly romantic – but it is realistic.
Getting the Right Advice
At Lund Bennett Family Law, we regularly help unmarried couples understand where they stand and put practical protections in place. Whether you’re planning ahead or dealing with a separation, we’ll explain your options clearly and without jargon.
If you’d like to talk things through, you can contact us or visit www.lundbennett.co.uk.
Sometimes a short conversation early on can prevent much bigger problems later.