Unmarried couples and the Ministry of Justice’s new proposals: what families need to know!

The Ministry of Justice has launched a major consultation on reforming family law, including proposals to improve legal protection for unmarried couples. This is an important development for families who live together, without marrying or entering a civil partnership, as the current law often provides far less protection than many people expect.

Why this matters?

Many people still believe that living together for a long time creates rights similar to marriage, but that is not the legal position in England and Wales. If an unmarried couple separates, disputes about property, finances and housing can be complex, and if one partner dies without a will, the surviving partner currently has no automatic right to inherit under the intestacy rules.

The government’s consultation recognises that this area of law no longer reflects how many families live today. It suggests a move towards a clearer and more structured legal framework for some cohabiting couples, while still maintaining a distinction between marriage and cohabitation.

What is being proposed:

The consultation explores a new legal scheme for certain qualifying cohabitants. The key points are:

1. Who may qualify

The proposed framework would apply to couples who have lived together for at least three years or who share a child.

2. A needs-based financial scheme

The court would begin from the position that each person keeps what they legally own but could make limited financial orders where necessary to meet defined needs and avoid hardship. This would be narrower than the financial regime available on divorce.

3. Possible court orders

The proposals indicate that qualifying cohabitants could have access to financial remedies similar in type to those available to married couples in some circumstances, including financial provision and property-related relief.

4. Clean break where possible

The consultation places emphasis on fairness, certainty and helping separating couples rebuild their lives, with a clean break wherever appropriate.

5. Opt-out agreements

The framework is being considered on the basis that it would apply automatically to qualifying couples, but with scope for couples to opt out by agreement, subject to safeguards.

6. Inheritance rights

The consultation also considers giving qualifying unmarried partners automatic inheritance rights where one partner dies without a will, addressing one of the most significant gaps in the current law.

7. Domestic abuse protections

Additional measures are being considered to strengthen protection for survivors of domestic abuse within the proposed reforms.

8. Wider financial remedies reform

The consultation also looks beyond cohabitation, including whether pre- and post-nuptial agreements should become legally binding and how the law on financial remedies more generally should be modernised.

Taken together, these proposals could amount to one of the most significant shifts in family law for many years.

Why families should not wait?

It is important to remember that these are proposals only and are not yet law. For now, unmarried couples should still take practical steps to protect themselves, including considering cohabitation agreements, reviewing property ownership, making wills, and taking early legal advice if difficulties arise. Early advice can often help avoid uncertainty, cost and unnecessary dispute later.

How we can help

At Whiterose Blackmans Solicitors, advice is available on all aspects of family law, including cohabitation, separation, divorce, financial remedies and child arrangements. As Head of our Family Law Department, Dr Ruby Bhatti OBE DL, provides clear, practical advice tailored to each family’s circumstances.

If you are living with a partner and want to understand your legal position, or if you are already facing separation, it is sensible to take advice on the current law and the options available to you.