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If you live with a partner but are not married or in a civil partnership, English and Welsh law offers you almost nothing if the relationship ends. No automatic right to a share of the family home. No claim on a partner's pension. If they die without a will, you get nothing, not even the sofa. This is the legal reality for more than 3.5 million cohabiting couples today, and the government wants to change it.
On 5 June 2026, the Ministry of Justice launched a consultation titled A Fairer End to Relationships. It covers three linked areas, financial arrangements when cohabiting couples separate, inheritance rights when a partner dies intestate, and reforms to the divorce finance system for married couples. The consultation closes on 14 August 2026.
What the Consultation Covers
- Cohabitation on separation: New financial framework for couples who split up after living together, including potential access to a share of property.
- Intestacy reform: Automatic inheritance rights for cohabiting partners if a partner dies without leaving a will.
- Divorce finance: Clearer rules to help married couples resolve financial disputes more quickly and fairly.
- Pre nuptial agreements: Proposals to make pre and post nuptial agreements legally binding in England and Wales.
- Domestic abuse: Courts could be required to give greater weight to abuse, including economic abuse, when assessing financial arrangements at the end of a relationship.
In England and Wales, cohabiting couples have no equivalent of matrimonial law. When a married couple divorces, the courts can redistribute assets, property, savings, pension income, based on a range of factors including length of marriage, contributions, and future needs. No such framework exists for couples who simply live together.
If a cohabiting relationship ends, each partner walks away with whatever is legally in their name. A partner who gave up work to raise children, or who contributed money to a jointly occupied home that is legally owned by the other, has very limited legal recourse. Civil claims through trust law are possible but expensive, uncertain, and rarely accessible to people without legal representation.
The intestacy problem is equally stark. Under current rules, if you die without a will in England and Wales, your estate passes to a defined list of relatives. A cohabiting partner however long you lived together, however many children you share receives nothing automatically. Married spouses and civil partners are protected. Cohabitants are not.
What the Government Is Proposing
The consultation does not set out a final policy. It sets out proposals and asks for views. That distinction matters, nothing in this document has the force of law, and the government has been explicit that any changes will require primary legislation and will only happen "when parliamentary time allows."
On cohabitation, the government is proposing that couples who have lived together for at least three years or who share a child should be able to access a new financial framework on separation. Courts would have discretion to order financial transfers, including a share of property proceeds, based on contributions to the relationship and future needs. The framework is described as distinct from matrimonial law, designed not to replicate marriage but to offer a floor of protection for the most vulnerable.
Qualifying Criteria Proposed for Cohabitation Framework
- Minimum cohabitation: At least three years living together, or a shared child, to access the framework.
- Relationship type: Courts would need to be satisfied the couple were in an "enduring family relationship."
- Not equivalent to marriage: A distinct set of rights, the government says this is designed to preserve the legal distinction of marriage and civil partnership.
- Domestic abuse weighting: Courts would be asked to give greater weight to abuse, including economic abuse when determining financial arrangements.
On intestacy, the consultation explores giving cohabiting partners automatic inheritance rights when a partner dies without a will, subject to similar qualifying criteria. The aim is to stop bereaved partners disproportionately women being left with nothing at one of the most difficult moments of their lives.
The consultation also looks at divorce finance reform, seeking to clarify what each partner can expect when reaching a financial settlement, with the aim of reducing contested litigation. Separately, it proposes making pre and post nuptial agreements legally binding, currently English courts can consider them but are not bound by them, which creates uncertainty for those who want to set out financial expectations before or during a marriage.
The Domestic Abuse
Running through the consultation is a specific concern about domestic abuse survivors. At present, a cohabiting abuse survivor who leaves a relationship has almost no financial safety net. They may have contributed to a shared home, given up career progression, or been left in debt by a controlling partner and have no legal route to recover any of it.
Sam Smethers, CEO of Surviving Economic Abuse, described the consultation as "a once in a generation opportunity to improve protections for victim survivors." She welcomed the proposal to ask courts to give greater weight to economic abuse, but cautioned that reforms must be developed with input from survivors particularly those most marginalised from the justice system to ensure protections are practical rather than theoretical.
Justice Minister Baroness Levitt KC said too many women who have suffered domestic abuse are "left destitute at the end of a relationship because they have been denied the rights they deserve." The consultation frames stronger cohabitation rights partly as a tool to close that gap.
The consultation
The consultation runs for ten weeks, closing on 14 August 2026. The Ministry of Justice will then analyse responses from the public, legal professionals, academics, charities, and other organisations before finalising its approach. Only then will legislation be drafted and introduced when parliamentary time is available, which means this is a medium term reform at the earliest.
Resolution, the association of family law professionals, welcomed the announcement. Chair Melanie Bataillard-Samuel said the current law "has simply not kept pace with changes in society" and described the consultation as "a significant step towards ending the endemic unfairness for cohabiting couples."
Those who want to respond to the consultation can do so directly via the Ministry of Justice's citizen space at consult.justice.gov.uk. The deadline is 14 August 2026.
Key Takeaways
- More than 3.5 million cohabiting couples in England and Wales currently have almost no automatic financial rights if a relationship ends or a partner dies.
- The government's consultation, launched 5 June 2026, proposes a new framework for cohabitants covering separation, inheritance, and stronger protections for domestic abuse survivors.
- To qualify, couples would need to have lived together for at least three years or share a child.
- Pre and post nuptial agreements could become legally binding under separate proposals in the same consultation.
- Nothing is law yet. Any changes require primary legislation and will only come "when parliamentary time allows."
- The consultation closes on 14 August 2026 and is open to everyone including members of the public.