co-habitation - understanding your rights
It has recently been in the news that consideration is being
given to giving co-habitees automatic rights upon the death of a
partner who dies without having made a Will.
At the present time unmarried partners of either sex have no
automatic right to inherit their partner's estate upon death
(although a claim can be made through the Courts once the parties
have co-habited for more than two years immediately prior to the
death of the first to pass away).
For those who have not made a Will, but are married or who have
entered into a Civil Partnership, the rules of intestacy would
apply which would mean where there are children the spouse/civil
partner would take all personal chattels, a legacy of up to
£250,000, and a life interest in half of the remainder of the
estate with the other half going to the children. If there are no
children or full siblings, entitlement will be dependent upon the
existence of other relatives. If there are no children but the
deceased has no parents or full siblings the spouse/civil partner
will take all. If parents/full siblings are alive the spouse/civil
partner will get personal chattels and £450,000 and half of the
rest of the estate absolutely. The remainder of the estate will go
to relatives.
If no provision is made for a co-habitee upon death, that person
will be forced to incur the costs and stress of making an
application to the Court to obtain a share of any estate.
The death of a loved one is only one area where co-habitees'
interests are not protected by law.
Upon relationship breakdown co-habitees have no automatic claim
against each other.
Even couples who have co-habited for more than 20 years will
have no automatic claim over the other's property and will also be
reliant on the workings of trust law. Steps can be taken to protect
the co-habitee's interests both during life and upon death. A
partner can make provision in a Will to protect their co-habitee's
interests. During life, co-habitees can protect their own interest
by entering into a Living-Together Agreement or in respect of
property obtaining a Declaration of Trust which specifies the
respective interests each party will hold. As with death, reforms
are under discussion however and there is no guarantee that they
will be implemented.
In the circumstances when you are co-habiting, the advice would
be to seek independent legal advice and protect your position to
avoid costly and stressful proceedings.
For further information, please contact
Jane
Longworth, a senior solicitor in Blake Lapthorn's
Family team, on 023 8085
7020 or at jane.longworth@bllaw.co.uk.
