The Consultation That Could Change Everything for Unmarried Couples
On 5 June 2026, the Ministry of Justice published a consultation paper titled “A Fairer End to Relationships.” Buried within its pages is a proposal that could fundamentally change inheritance law in England and Wales for the first time in decades: giving qualifying cohabitants automatic rights under the intestacy rules.
If you are one of the estimated 3.6 million cohabiting couples in England and Wales, this matters. If you advise them, work with them, or count yourself among them, it matters even more.
The Current Position: No Ring, No Rights
Under the current intestacy rules in England and Wales, a surviving cohabitant has no automatic right to inherit anything from their deceased partner’s estate. It does not matter if they lived together for 30 years, raised children together, or were financially dependent on the deceased.
When someone dies without a will, their estate is distributed according to a rigid statutory hierarchy: surviving spouse or civil partner first, then children, then parents, then siblings. Cohabitants do not appear in this hierarchy at all.
The only remedy available to a surviving cohabitant is to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. This is a discretionary court application that is expensive, slow, emotionally draining, and far from guaranteed to succeed. Even when it does succeed, the standard of provision for a cohabitant is limited to “maintenance” — a markedly lower standard than what a surviving spouse would receive.
In practical terms, a cohabitant who has shared a home, a life, and financial responsibilities with their partner for decades can be left with nothing if their partner dies without a will. The family home may pass to distant relatives. Bank accounts may be frozen. The surviving partner may need to apply to a court simply to be allowed to stay in their own home.
What the Consultation Proposes
The Ministry of Justice’s consultation broadly follows the recommendations made by the Law Commission in its 2011 report on cohabitation. The key proposals affecting inheritance rights include:
Automatic intestacy rights for qualifying cohabitants. The consultation proposes that cohabitants who meet certain qualifying criteria should be included in the intestacy rules alongside spouses and civil partners. This would give them an automatic share of their deceased partner’s estate without needing to bring a court claim.
Qualifying criteria. Not all cohabitants would qualify. The consultation suggests criteria similar to those in the Law Commission’s 2011 recommendations: a minimum period of cohabitation (likely two to five years), or a shorter period where the couple have children together. The exact qualifying period is one of the questions the consultation asks respondents to address.
A hierarchy of entitlement. The consultation does not propose giving cohabitants exactly the same rights as married couples. Instead, it suggests a modified hierarchy that balances the interests of the surviving cohabitant with those of children and other family members.
Opt-out provisions. The consultation recognises that not all cohabiting couples would want these rights to apply. It proposes an opt-out mechanism that would allow couples to agree, in advance, that the intestacy rules should not apply to them.
What This Means for Estate Planning
If these proposals become law — and the political will appears to exist — the implications for estate planning are significant.
For cohabiting couples without wills: This would provide a safety net that currently does not exist. However, the protection would only apply to qualifying cohabitants, and the precise terms of any entitlement would depend on the final legislation. A will would still provide far greater control and certainty than relying on intestacy rules.
For cohabiting couples with wills: If you already have a will, the intestacy rules do not apply to you. Your will determines how your estate is distributed. However, the new rules might affect how your will interacts with other claims on your estate, particularly if you have children from a previous relationship.
For married couples and civil partners: The proposals should not directly affect your inheritance rights, which are already protected under the existing intestacy rules. However, if you have a blended family — children from a previous relationship, a current cohabiting partner — the interaction between these new rules and your existing arrangements may need consideration.
For families with complex structures: The proposals raise questions about how cohabitant rights would interact with trusts, pension nominations, life insurance policies, and jointly owned property. These interactions are not fully addressed in the consultation, and the answers will depend on the final legislation.
The Common Law Marriage Myth
One of the most persistent and dangerous myths in English law is the belief in “common law marriage.” Many cohabiting couples believe that after a certain period of living together, they automatically acquire the same legal rights as married couples.
This is completely wrong. There is no such thing as a common law marriage in England and Wales. No matter how long you live together, you do not acquire any automatic inheritance rights, property rights, or pension rights simply by cohabiting.
The Ministry of Justice consultation acknowledges this myth as one of the drivers for reform. Survey after survey shows that a majority of cohabiting couples believe they have legal protections that simply do not exist. The proposed reforms would, for the first time, create some of those protections — but only for qualifying cohabitants and only in respect of intestacy.
What Should You Do Now?
The consultation is open until September 2026, and any resulting legislation is unlikely to take effect before 2028 at the earliest. In the meantime, the current rules apply in full.
If you are in a cohabiting relationship:
- Make a will. This remains the single most important step you can take. A will gives you control over who inherits your estate and prevents your partner from having to rely on intestacy rules — whether reformed or not.
- Review property ownership. If you own your home jointly, the legal structure of that ownership (joint tenants or tenants in common) determines what happens to it when one of you dies. Get advice on which structure is right for you.
- Check pension and life insurance nominations. These pass outside your will. Ensure your partner is named as beneficiary if that is your intention.
- Consider Lasting Powers of Attorney. If you lose capacity, your cohabiting partner has no automatic right to make decisions on your behalf. An LPA solves this.
The proposed reforms are a positive step, but they are not yet law. And even when they become law, they will not replace the certainty and control that comes from having a proper estate plan in place.
If you are in a cohabiting relationship and want to understand your options, contact The Legacy Wills Company for practical, jargon-free advice.