In 2011, 47.3% of babies born in the UK had parents who were not married. Bearing that in mind, to the nearest million, how many common law marriages do you think exist at the moment in England and Wales?
Ten million? Five million? Two million?
The answer is none. Not a single one. It’s a trick question.
There is no such thing as common law marriage in England & Wales. It was abolished in the eighteenth century and yet huge numbers of people think it still exists. They think that if you live together for long enough, sooner or later you gain the same rights as a married person does. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most cohabiting couples live in blissful ignorance of their lack of rights in the event that the relationship breaks down.
I have blogged before expressing my disappointment about the government’s decision to not implement the recommendations of the Law Commission that the law be reformed to introduce limited rights for cohabiting couples to make financial claims. These rights would be nowhere near the same as those of married couples, but it would do a great deal to prevent the inherent unfairness of the current law. Time and again, I encounter a former boyfriend or girlfriend who find that they have no ability to seek a share of their former partner’s assets. Sometimes that is a fair outcome, but often it is not.
Liberal Democrat peer, Lord Marks of Henley on Thames has introduced a private members bill in the House of Lords to reform the cohabitation laws. If passed, it will enact the recommendations of the Law Commission, including an opt out for couples who do not wish the law to apply to them.
Sadly, as a private members’ bill, it will almost certainly fail. There are many in parliament, especially those on the right, who equate reform of the law in this area with undermining marriage. Unlike gay marriage, where the government showed considerable strength of character by ignoring the opponents in its own ranks, their policy on cohabitation is nowhere near as progressive.
20 October 2013