Question
Do you know whether the laws surrounding common law relationships are likely to change? I understand that at present separated unmarried couples are only entitled to properties in their name or properties they can prove they have paid towards. Thanks. Answer
Common law partners, i.e. those living together who are not married/civil partners, have no automatic right to each other's property, regardless of how long they've lived together.
While it's clear some individuals are probably treated unfairly under the current system, as far as I know there are no plans to change this.
I think change would be unlikely in any case, as trying to enforce common law rights could get very messy. It would likely involve having to prove how long you've lived with someone, which might be straightforward in some circumstances (e.g. a joint rental agreement) but far harder in others (e.g. living rent free in a partner's property).Then there'd probably need to be proof of ownership for assets etc. All this would be great for solicitors to rack up some fees, but maybe less so for the individuals concerned.
Do you know whether the laws surrounding common law relationships are likely to change? I understand that at present separated unmarried couples are only entitled to properties in their name or properties they can prove they have paid towards. Thanks. Answer
Common law partners, i.e. those living together who are not married/civil partners, have no automatic right to each other's property, regardless of how long they've lived together.
While it's clear some individuals are probably treated unfairly under the current system, as far as I know there are no plans to change this.
I think change would be unlikely in any case, as trying to enforce common law rights could get very messy. It would likely involve having to prove how long you've lived with someone, which might be straightforward in some circumstances (e.g. a joint rental agreement) but far harder in others (e.g. living rent free in a partner's property).Then there'd probably need to be proof of ownership for assets etc. All this would be great for solicitors to rack up some fees, but maybe less so for the individuals concerned.
Read this Q and A at http://www.candidmoney.com/askjustin/792/change-to-common-law-rules
No comments:
Post a Comment