Cohabiting Couples' Rights in the UK

Living together does not create marriage. Cohabiting couples in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have very limited legal protection if they separate. Scotland is different: it gives cohabitants a narrow set of statutory rights under the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006.

This article covers cohabiting (unmarried) different-sex and same-sex couples in all four UK nations. The rules genuinely differ by nation, particularly in Scotland, so each section below is tagged to its own jurisdiction.

Why "common law marriage" is a myth in the UK

There is no such legal status as "common law marriage" anywhere in the UK. Surveys commissioned by legal and consumer bodies have repeatedly found a large minority of cohabiting couples wrongly believe that living together for a certain number of years, or having children together, gives them marriage-equivalent rights. It does not, in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Cohabitants do not automatically acquire a share in their partner's property, a right to spousal-style maintenance, or automatic inheritance rights simply through the length of the relationship. Whatever rights exist come from specific, narrower legal routes: property and trust law, a will, a cohabitation agreement, or, in Scotland only, a dedicated statute. Anyone relying on the assumption of "common law marriage" protection is likely to find, on separation or bereavement, that no such protection exists.

Cohabitants' rights in England and Wales

If an unmarried couple in England or Wales separates, there is no divorce-style financial settlement available to them, however long they lived together or however many children they have. Disputes about the home are resolved under ordinary property and trust law, principally the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA), applying resulting and constructive trust principles based on legal ownership, financial contributions and the parties' common intention, not on fairness or need as in divorce. There is no right to ongoing partner maintenance for either party. Claims relating to the couple's children, rather than the adults, can be brought under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989, which can require a parent to provide housing or a lump sum for a child's benefit.

Cohabitants' rights in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland follows the same pattern as England and Wales: cohabitants have very limited rights on separation. There is no equivalent in Northern Ireland to a divorce-style financial settlement for unmarried couples. Property disputes between former cohabitants are worked out under the same kind of property and trust-law principles applied in England and Wales, looking at legal title, contributions and intention rather than need or fairness. As in England and Wales, there is no right to spousal-style maintenance for a cohabitant, and support for the couple's children is handled separately, through child maintenance and through provision for the child rather than the adult. Northern Ireland has not introduced anything resembling Scotland's cohabitant statute.

Cohabitants' rights in Scotland: the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006

Scotland is the one part of the UK where cohabitants have dedicated statutory rights, under the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006. Section 28 lets either partner apply to the court for a financial provision order after they stop living together, based on economic advantage or disadvantage arising from the relationship; the application must be made within one year of the date the couple stopped cohabiting, and this time limit cannot be extended. Section 29 lets a surviving cohabitant apply for a discretionary share of a partner's estate if that partner dies without leaving a valid will (intestate); this application must be made within six months of the death. Neither provision creates an automatic entitlement or ongoing maintenance; both require a court application, are discretionary, and are subject to strict time limits.

England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland compared

Claims about children when unmarried parents separate

A parent's marital status makes no difference to child maintenance: the Child Maintenance Service applies across England, Wales and Scotland, and Northern Ireland's Child Maintenance Service mirrors the same rules, regardless of whether the parents were ever married or living together. That income-based maintenance is separate from any capital or housing claim. In England and Wales, a parent (or another person with care of the child) can apply under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 for a lump sum, a settlement of property, or periodical payments intended for the child's benefit, such as housing until the child turns 18. This is a claim made for the child, not a route to the kind of financial settlement a spouse can seek on divorce.

Protecting yourself: cohabitation agreements, joint ownership and wills

Because statutory protection for cohabitants is minimal outside Scotland and still limited within it, the practical protections come from planning ahead, above all making a will. A cohabitation agreement cannot rewrite property or trust law, but it lets a couple record what they intend regarding the home, savings and finances, and courts treat clear evidence of intention as relevant if a dispute later arises. Owning a home as beneficial joint tenants, or setting out shares clearly in a declaration of trust, avoids much of the uncertainty behind resulting and constructive trust disputes. A current will matters for every cohabiting couple: outside Scotland's narrow section 29 route, an unmarried partner has no automatic entitlement to inherit if their partner dies without one, so naming a partner in a will is the only way to be certain they are provided for.

This article provides general legal information about cohabitants' rights in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, verified against gov.uk and legislation.gov.uk as at 18 July 2026. It is not legal advice. Rights on separation or bereavement depend on individual facts, and readers should get advice from a solicitor licensed in the relevant nation, or contact Citizens Advice, Rights of Women or Gingerbread for further support, before relying on it for their own situation.

For the child maintenance rules that apply regardless of a couple's marital status, see child maintenance (CMS). For the divorce-only financial settlement process that does not apply to unmarried couples, see financial settlement on divorce. For more on why no UK nation recognises informal marriage, see common law marriage: the myth. This article is part of the UK family law hub, within the wider United Kingdom law coverage on this site.