Cohabitees

Whilst the Residence Nil Rate Band provides a huge additional Inheritance Tax benefit for married couples, the position is less rosy for cohabitees.

Civil partnerships are now an option for opposite-sex couples, providing the choice of a formal union without any religious connotations. Cohabitees may wish to give this new possibility some thought since they have few legal rights and, contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as a ‘common law marriage’.

The ‘common law marriage’ myth causes too many cohabiting couples to neglect making a Will and other important legal documents.

Despite cohabiting couple families being the 2nd largest family type in the UK, the law of inheritance does not make adequate provision for them.

In this guide we discuss a wide range of matters that affect cohabiting couples, from home ownership & sharing to insurance, inheritance & loss of capacity.

What happens if a property is occupied by an unmarried cohabiting couple but the legal title is in one name only? This question often arises where both have contributed in the relationship but then split up.

Nobody wants to think about their relationship breaking down but the recent case of Liden v Burton has highlighted the importance of cohabitation agreements