Co-habiting couples need more protection

A Nottingham solicitor is calling for changes in the law to provide greater equality in the way married and co-habiting couples are treated when their relationships break down.

Catherine Wenborn believes the current system would lead most lawyers to give conflicting advice to men and women involved in a committed relationship. “The message coming out of the courts is that women are better off getting married whereas men are better off staying single and simply co-habiting.”

High profile cases like that of business tycoon John Charman who was ordered to pay his ex-wife £48m illustrate how the courts are prepared to award generous settlements to women who are married yet there is hardly any protection for those who co-habit, even though they may have been with their partners for far longer than the duration of most marriages.

“Many women think they are automatically entitled to financial support from their partner if they break up but they are not. We come across cases where women have lived with a man for 20 years yet they end up with virtually nothing when the relationship breaks ups up or he dies without making a will.”

“Men can also lose out because unmarried fathers don’t necessarily have the same rights when it comes to access to children.

The Law Commission is currently considering the legal position of co-habiting couples.

Catherine Wenborn, who is head of family law at Andersons Solicitors in Nottingham, says it should increase protection for co-habitees as soon as possible, especially those who have lived together for several years.

There are currently more than four million people living together as couples without marrying in the UK.

Catherine Wenborn is head of the Family Department at Andersons Solicitors in Nottingham and can be contacted by telephoning 0115 988 6717 or emailing cwenborn@andersonssolicitors.co.uk. Catherine is available for interview to explain the difference between the legal rights of married couples and those of co-habiting couples.