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Marriage

Answer

The Government published its consultation, “A Fairer End to Relationships”, on 5 June. A central objective of the proposals is to preserve the distinct status of marriage. The consultation therefore proposes a separate and narrower set of financial rights for eligible cohabitants on separation, which will be available only to those in committed romantic relationships who meet defined criteria.

Under the consultation’s proposals, legal rights and remedies associated with marriage and divorce would remain exclusive to married couples. For instance, married couples would retain access to the full financial remedy framework on divorce, including the two-year limitation period for claims and the court’s broad discretion to divide matrimonial property. The principle of equal sharing, which exists for married couples on divorce would not apply to cohabitants.

By contrast, cohabitants would need to bring any claim within two years of separation. The starting point would be that each party retains what they legally own and the court could depart from that position only where necessary to meet specifically defined financial needs. Those needs would be assessed more narrowly than on divorce. Maintenance for cohabitants would be available only in exceptional circumstances and would have to be time-limited. Overall, the proposed scheme for cohabitants is more designed so that financial dependence will cease as early as possible. These differences reflect the explicit legal commitment of entering into marriage.

When preparing its consultation, the Government considered the merits of an opt-in framework but rejected it on the basis that it would fail to provide adequate protection for the vulnerable, including children. This is because 47% of people believe in the “common law marriage” myth, namely that by living together couples have the same rights as those who are married. Evidence shows that public awareness campaigns have not been effective in raising awareness of financial rights. An opt-in model would also fail to protect the vulnerable in relationships such as where there is an unequal balance of power, including where one partner is abusive or coercive, because a perpetrator of abuse would be unlikely to agree to an opt-in agreement.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

9834

Session

2026-27

Grouped for answer

Yes

Subjects

Cohabitation Marriage Married people

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk