Recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) highlights significant shifts in living arrangements and relationship dynamics in England and Wales.
Cohabitation has continued to rise, while marriage rates have been steadily declining. As of 2022, the proportion of people aged 16 and over who are married has fallen below 50% for the first time.
Conversely, cohabitation has become more common, with an estimated 6.8 million people cohabiting in 2022, representing 22.7% of the adult population. This marks a notable increase from 19.7% in 2012.
What does this tell us?
People are choosing to build their family in a changing manner.
Changes in social views of same sex relationships and changes in the law have increased the number of same sex couple families.
A rise in the number of divorces has probably played a role in the number of people now living alone.
It would seem that whilst married couples are still the most common type of family, couples are often opting to co-habit. Rising house prices are forcing couples to chose between housing their family and getting married. The same could be said for the reason the number of young people still living at home has increased.
46% of people in England and Wales believe in a “common law” marriage. This suggests that they believe that just because you are essentially living as man and wife you assume the rights afforded to married couples.
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a common law marriage, meaning that co-habiting couples do not have the same legal rights as married couples.
For example, if a co-habitee were to die without a Will, their partner would not automatically be entitled to their assets. Similarly, a co-habiting Father would not have the same automatic parental responsibility rights as a Father married to their child’s Mother.
What can I do to protect my rights?
A cohabitation agreement sets out the financial arrangements and rights between cohabiting partners, offering legal clarity on asset division and responsibilities if the relationship ends or one partner passes away
Our Family Law team can assist cohabiting couples by drafting a comprehensive cohabitation agreement that clearly outlines each partner’s financial contributions, asset ownership, and responsibilities, helping to avoid future disputes.
We can also provide legal advice on the implications of not having such an agreement, especially concerning property, inheritance, and parental rights. Furthermore, we can ensure that the agreement reflects both partners’ wishes and offer ongoing reviews as circumstances change.