More than 3.5 million couples in England and Wales now live together without marrying or entering a civil partnership. It is the fastest growing type of family in the country. Yet most of those couples are relying on rights they simply do not have.
Cohabitation has been in the news this year, because the government has been consulting on whether to change the law. That has left a lot of people assuming the rules have already shifted. They have not. Until they do, the gap between what people think they are entitled to and what the law actually gives them is as wide as it has ever been, and that gap can be very expensive to fall into.
Let us start with the big one, because almost everyone believes it. There is no such thing as common law marriage in England and Wales. It does not matter whether you have lived together for two years or twenty, whether you have children, or whether you have always called each other partners. Living together does not give you the legal status of a married couple, and it never has.
That single misunderstanding causes more harm than any other in this area, because people only discover it is a myth at the worst possible moment, when a relationship ends or a partner dies.
When a married couple divorces, the court can share property, savings, pensions and income between them based on what is fair and what each person needs. Cohabiting couples have no equivalent right.
If you separate, there is no automatic right to a share of your partner's assets, no right to their pension, and no right to maintenance for yourself, however long you were together and whatever you gave up along the way. Who owns the property is decided largely by whose name is on the paperwork under property and trust law rather than family law. Where the property is owned by your ex-partner, working out whether you are entitled to any of the equity in the property can be difficult, uncertain and costly.
There is an important exception. Arrangements for children, and child maintenance, apply regardless of whether the parents were ever married. If you have children together, both parents have responsibilities to support them, however the law can also require the non-resident parent to provide housing and lump sums to meet the children's needs.
That protects the children. It does not protect you as a partner. Child support is for the child, not a substitute for the financial claims a spouse would have, so a parent who steps back from work to raise a family can still find themselves in a very exposed position when a relationship ends.
The same gap appears on death. If your partner dies without a will, you do not automatically inherit anything, no matter how long you lived together. The rules that decide who inherits when there is no will do not recognise cohabiting partners at all.
You may be able to bring a claim against the estate, but that means going to court, it is far from guaranteed, and it is a hard thing to face while grieving. Cohabiting partners also miss out on the automatic tax exemptions that married couples and civil partners get when one of them dies.
This is where the headlines come in. In June 2026 the government launched a consultation called "A Fairer End to Relationships," proposing some of the biggest changes to family law in decades. Among other things, it set out a possible new framework that would give some cohabiting couples limited financial rights when they separate, and some protection if a partner dies.
The proposals suggest these rights might apply to couples who have lived together for at least three years, or who have a child together, and they are deliberately more limited than the rights married couples have. The consultation closed in August 2026.
Here is the crucial part. It is only a consultation. None of it is law. The government still has to decide what to take forward and pass legislation, which could take years, and there is no guarantee any new rights would automatically apply to relationships that already exist. In other words, the law that applies to you today is the old one, with all the gaps described above. Waiting for reform is not a safe plan.
The good news is that you do not have to wait for the law to change to put yourself on solid ground. A few straightforward steps make an enormous difference:
Our family law team helps unmarried couples understand exactly where they stand, and put the right protections in place before they are ever needed. Whether you are moving in together, buying a home, starting a family, or working out what to do at the end of a relationship, we will explain your position in plain English and set out your options clearly.
Based across our offices in Lichfield, Cannock, Sutton Coldfield and Dudley, we offer a first conversation with no pressure and no obligation, so you can understand where you stand before deciding anything.
Is there such a thing as common law marriage in England and Wales?
No. It is a myth. Living together, however long for, does not give you the legal status or rights of a married couple.
If we split up, am I entitled to half of everything?
No. Unlike divorcing couples, cohabitants have no automatic right to share assets, pensions or income. Who gets what depends largely on legal ownership and what each person contributed, decided under property law rather than family law.
Does it change things if we have children together?
Arrangements for children and child maintenance apply whether or not the parents were married, so the children are protected. But that support is for the children, not for you as a partner, and it does not give you a claim over your ex-partner's assets.
What happens if my partner dies without a will?
You do not automatically inherit. The intestacy rules do not recognise cohabiting partners. You may be able to make a claim against the estate, but it means going to court and is not guaranteed, which is why a will matters so much.
Isn't the law about to change?
The government consulted on reform in 2026, and it may bring in new rights for some cohabiting couples in future. But nothing has become law yet, it could take years, and it may not automatically apply to existing relationships. The safe approach is to protect yourself under the law as it stands now.
This article is general information about the law in England and Wales and is not legal advice. For advice on your own situation, please speak to our family law team.