Legal Pitfalls Facing Unmarried Couples

10 July 2008

The Government’s decision to postpone indefinitely proposals by the Law Commission to give unmarried couples the same rights on separation as their married counterparts will do nothing to solve a complex legal situation, says a Kent lawyer.

Susi Gillespie, family law specialist at one of the south east’s leading law firms Furley Page, commented: “Living together is rapidly becoming a more usual life choice than marriage but the reality is that it can make a huge difference to the way the court looks at the finances on separation.
 
“The rights of cohabitees are not the same as married couples – particularly when it comes to property.”

Put simply, says Susi - who divides her time between her Canterbury office and the firm’s recently-opened Chatham office at Thames Gateway - if you marry and divorce, the court divides your property and income on the basis of what is fair, bearing in mind the needs of your children, your own needs and resources, and the length of your marriage.
 
If you are unmarried, your ex-partner may be obliged to provide your children with a home until they are older but your own rights are very limited. You may be entitled to the use of your partner’s home while the children live there but the amount of money you receive will be calculated on your contribution to its acquisition rather than on what you need.

Child support or help with children’s education expenses may be forthcoming but you won’t receive maintenance from your partner in your own right. And you won’t get a share of your partner’s pension either, however long your relationship lasted.

For further information on the legal rights affecting married and unmarried couples contact Susi Gillespie on 01227 763939.

Susi is based at Chatham on Monday afternoons.

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