UK Lawyers Fighting For Common-Law Relationship Status
There's an interesting debate going on right now in the UK. Like in the US and Canada, more people are living common law than getting married; currently one out of every six partnerships are common law relationships in England. And according to the English government, this trend is only slated to increase. Yet for all of these cohabitating partners, none are protected financially should the worst happen. So a Lord by the name of Baron Lester has decided to take it upon himself to introduce a bill to the UK Parliament later this year that may solve this dilemma.
The Lord may have his work cut out for him: 53 percent of common law couples in the UK believe that they have the same legal rights as spouses (when this isn't the case at all), and a British Attitudes Survey found that "nine in ten people believe that cohabitees should have a right to financial protection if their relationship is long-term, involves prioritizing one partner's career, or includes children."
What do you think? Should dating couples who live together be protected by the law? What if one of the partners dies, or the relationship ends? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Source: Robins, Jon. The Observer. Lord fights to give legal rights to cohabitees. July 13, 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/jul/13/familyfinance.law
Comments
Thanks for this update. It’s been so hard to know just how many partnerships are really out there - does this mean for every 6 legally married relationship there is an additional 1 common law relationship? The UK Census info seems to only give married (as in legal marriages) info. I have been trying to identify trends both in the US and UK and have found it really hard to find! And for the record if the partnership is a common law partnership, I agree they should have same rights as a legally married couple. Aren’t they recognized as ‘married’ or in a relationship by people like Social Security already?
Common law relationships should NOT be recognized as marriage, at least not with the same rights and privileges. Marriage takes a deep commitment to your partner…something that doesn’t exist in a “common law” relationship. The partners may believe that they are “married” on the surface, but there is an underlying reason for the non-commitment. I can see that there will be some arguments against this opinion, but please explain how two people living together long enough would choose to not get married instead of doing so and realizing the full benefits of a legal marriage?? Money isn’t the issue…you don’t need a ring to be married…hell, in the US you can get married for $50 in Las Vegas (I’m sure there is a similar place in the UK). So I guess the question is “why wasn’t the couple married in the first place?????”. To set the record straight, I am 21 years old and this common law marriage deal was attempted by my fathers girlfriend. They were together for 7 years and when he passed away, she tried to take EVERYTHING!!! Marriage is a way to say, “please join my family and accept all the benefits and the obstacles involved with it”. Luckily my father taught (and assisted) me how to invest wisely at a young age so I was able to fight the bitch (excuse my French) and win the estate for my siblings. In all, common law relationships are missing a central value that is essential to marriage, whether it be trust, TRUE love (not lust), or some other reason.
And for the record, SHI Symbol, it would mean for every 5 legally married couples there would be 1 common law relationship…
Here is a real situation in the UK. My wife is British. Her brother just past away unexpectantly at 37. His partner of 17 years, the mother of his two-year old son, has just been told she is not eligible to receive any of his benefits. She will probably lose the house they have been paying on for the last 10 years and have to move in with family. They will not even release the death certificate to her. This is the reality.
Adam from what you revealed about yourself in your post, I’m not sure you’ve ever seen a commited loving relationship, or if you did, I’m not sure you would recognize it, married or not. But hopefully you will find the same kind of long-term commitment and love my brother-in-law and his partner had until his death this week. If you do, you would realize how utterly wrong you are.