New Bill to be introduced to give rights to Cohabiting Couples

The family lawyers group Resolution will introduce a bill this autumn, in collaboration with veteran human rights lawyer Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC who successfully introduced what became the Forced Marriages Act 2007. The bill forms part of a new ‘Living Together’ campaign launched by Resolution to address the unjust treatment in the law of people who live together without marrying. Since 1996, the number of cohabiting couples in the UK has risen to around 2.2 million which equates to one in six of all couples. Equally, an ageing population means that some 500,000 adults now spend 20 hours a week or more caring for a parent or parent-in-law, many living in the same home. As it currently exists, the law does little to prevent people in these situations from losing their home or suffering financial hardship if their relationship breaks down or their partner dies. The Bill would apply only to people who have lived in the same household for a minimum period of time, during which they have provided a financial or other commitment to each other. Couples would have the ability to ‘opt out’ of the new scheme as long as certain conditions are met, in order to protect the vulnerable. The Resolution website sums the situation up as follows: “It is clear that the way we live is changing and our laws must change to match.” Although the Government has proposed research into the issue, this isn’t scheduled to begin until 2010. If you’d like more information on co-habitation, please contact James Haworth on 0116 212 1080.