Common Law Marriage in the UK: The Myth Explained

There is no such thing as a 'common law marriage' anywhere in the UK. However long a couple lives together, and however many children they have, they do not gain the legal rights of a married couple or civil partners without actually marrying or forming a civil partnership.

Information last verified on 18 July 2026. This page is general legal information, not legal advice.

Jurisdiction scope: This page covers all four nations of the UK. The 'no common law marriage' rule and the general lack of cohabitant rights apply the same way in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland is treated separately because the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 gives Scottish cohabitants limited rights that do not exist elsewhere in the UK.

The common law marriage myth, explained

Many people believe that living with a partner for long enough, commonly cited as two years, five years or seven years, creates a 'common law marriage' with the same legal standing as an actual marriage. This has never been true anywhere in the UK. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all treat cohabiting partners as two legally single people, however long they have lived together, whatever surname they share, and however many children they have raised together. Citizens Advice and the House of Commons Library both describe belief in common law marriage as one of the most persistent and damaging legal myths in the country, because it leads people to assume protections they do not actually have. The only way to acquire the legal status of marriage is to marry, and the only equivalent status for couples who do not marry is a civil partnership.

No automatic right to your partner's property

If a home is owned only in one partner's name, the other partner has no automatic legal share in it simply because they live there, or have lived there for years. Ownership disputes between unmarried partners are decided under ordinary property and trust law, not family law, looking at whose name is on the title deeds, who paid the deposit and mortgage, and whether there was a clear agreement to share ownership. A partner who is not named on the deeds may still be able to show they have a stake in the property through a resulting or constructive trust, but this depends on proving financial contributions or a shared understanding, and it is far less certain than the guaranteed protections a spouse or civil partner has on divorce or dissolution. Contributing to bills or renovations does not, by itself, guarantee a share.

No automatic right to a pension

Occupational and personal pension schemes generally pay a survivor's pension automatically to a spouse or civil partner when the scheme member dies. An unmarried partner is not treated the same way. Many schemes will only pay a pension to a cohabiting partner if the member has specifically nominated them, usually by completing an "expression of wish" or nomination form held by the scheme, and even then the trustees usually have discretion over whether to pay it, rather than a duty to do so. Some schemes ask for evidence of a set period of cohabitation or financial dependency before they will consider a nomination. An unmarried partner who wants their pension to benefit their partner should check the scheme's own rules directly and keep the nomination form up to date, because there is no legal default that does this for them the way marriage does.

No right to maintenance if you separate

When a marriage or civil partnership ends, a court can order one spouse to pay the other ongoing spousal maintenance, taking into account needs, income and the length of the relationship. There is no equivalent for unmarried couples. If cohabiting partners separate, neither can claim maintenance from the other for their own support, however long they lived together or however financially dependent one partner became on the other. This can leave a partner who gave up work to care for children or run the household with no income of their own once the relationship ends. The one exception concerns children rather than the adults: a parent can claim child maintenance regardless of whether the parents were ever married, and in some cases apply for further financial provision for a child under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989. See the child maintenance guide for how that works, and the financial settlement guide for the much wider discretionary settlement a court can order for a married couple, which never applies to unmarried partners.

What happens if your partner dies without a will

The intestacy rules set out who inherits when someone dies without a valid will, and they are built around marriage, civil partnership and blood relationships, not cohabitation. An unmarried partner is not included in those rules at all, however long the couple lived together. If your partner dies intestate, their estate normally passes to their children, or if they have none, to their parents, siblings or other blood relatives, while you as the surviving unmarried partner receive nothing automatically, even after decades sharing a home and a life together. A surviving partner in that position may be able to apply to court for financial provision as a dependant under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, but that requires a court application and is never automatic. Making a will is the only reliable way to make sure a partner actually inherits.

Scotland's partial exception: limited rights for cohabitants

Scotland is the one part of the UK where the law recognises cohabitants at all, though the rights involved are still much narrower than marriage. Under section 28 of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006, a cohabitant can apply to court for a capital sum or other financial provision when the relationship ends other than by death, based on economic advantage or disadvantage arising from the relationship, including unpaid childcare and homemaking. That application must be made within 1 year of the couple ceasing to live together. Under section 29 of the same Act, if a cohabitant dies intestate, the survivor can apply to court within 6 months of the death for a discretionary payment from the estate, capped at what a spouse or civil partner would have received. Both routes require a court application within a strict time limit, and neither guarantees the outcome a spouse would automatically get.

How to protect yourself

Because the law does not give cohabiting partners the rights of marriage anywhere in the UK, protecting yourself has to be done deliberately. Marrying or entering a civil partnership is the only way to get the full set of automatic rights over property, pensions, maintenance and inheritance. Short of that, making a will that names your partner is essential, since the intestacy rules will not provide for them. Owning a home as joint tenants, so that it passes automatically to the survivor, or as tenants in common with a written declaration of trust setting out each partner's share, gives more certainty than an informal arrangement. A cohabitation agreement, drawn up with independent legal advice for each partner, can set out in advance how property, savings and belongings should be divided if the relationship ends. See the cohabitation rights guide for more detail on property rules and cohabitation agreements for unmarried couples across the UK.

This page is general legal information about cohabitation and 'common law marriage' across the UK, verified on 18 July 2026. It is not legal advice. For help with your own situation, contact Citizens Advice, Rights of Women, or a solicitor. See the cohabitation rights guide and child maintenance guide for related detail, the UK family law hub for the full picture across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom law hub for other UK legal topics.