More than 3.6 million couples in England and Wales live together without being married — and most have no idea how little legal protection they have if one of them dies.
There is no such thing as “common law marriage” in English law. If your partner dies without a Will, you inherit nothing under the intestacy rules — regardless of how long you have lived together, whether you have children, or how much you contributed to the home.
The intestacy rules pass everything to the children, parents, or siblings of the deceased. An unmarried partner does not appear in the hierarchy at all.
Your options without a Will are limited:
• If you jointly own the home as joint tenants, you inherit their share automatically — but only the property, not the rest of the estate
• You can claim under the Inheritance Act 1975, but only if you lived together for at least two years, and the court’s standard of provision is “maintenance” only — not a fair share
• Court claims are expensive, uncertain, and adversarial
What every cohabiting couple should do:
1. Make a Will — this is the single most important step
2. Check how the property is owned (joint tenants vs tenants in common)
3. Update pension and life insurance nominations to name your partner
4. Consider life insurance written in trust for immediate financial protection
5. Appoint guardians for any children under 18
The law may change eventually, but until it does, proper planning is the only protection available.