Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 23
The current law applicable to cohabitants on relationship breakdown can be costly, complicated and unfair.
Conclusion
The current law applicable to cohabitants on relationship breakdown can be costly, complicated and unfair. Complex property law and trusts principles often require the financially weaker partner—often women—to demonstrate direct financial contributions to the acquisition of the family home, while childcare and other non- financial contributions go largely unrecognised. Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989, is out-dated, mostly benefits the children of wealthy parents and is in need of reform.
Government Response Summary
The government commits to consider the best ways to raise awareness about the legal distinctions between marriage, civil partnership and cohabitation, including reviewing the information currently available to the public and considering better signposting for further information and support.
Paragraph Reference:
23
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
We partially accept this recommendation. The Government agrees that it is important that people are aware of the legal distinctions between getting married, forming a civil partnership and living together as cohabitants. The Government further agrees that it is a concern that so many people believe there is such a thing as a ‘common law marriage’, which is an erroneous belief that after a certain amount of time living together, the law treats cohabitants as if they were married. The Government has already demonstrated commitment in this area. The Department for Education’s statutory guidance on relationships education includes the need for schools to ensure that pupils should be aware of what marriage is, including its legal status (for example, that marriage carries legal rights and protections not available to couples who are cohabiting or who have married in an unregistered religious ceremony), why marriage is an important relationship choice for many couples and the characteristics and legal status of other types of long-term relationships. Given the existing action in this space, the Government does not consider a national campaign necessary, however we commit to take further action to consider the best ways to raise awareness about this issue within the context of existing frameworks. This will include considering a review of the information currently available to the public in this sphere, including on Gov.uk, and considering whether better signposting for further information and support could be made available.