Recommendation 4

The law should fully recognise the social reality of modern families and protect people regardless of whether they are married, in a civil partnership, or in long- term cohabiting relationships. However, law reform should recognise that marriage continues to hold an important social and religious status in England and Wales. We believe that the Law Commission’s 2007 proposals for an opt-out cohabitation scheme are a pragmatic approach for reforming cohabitation law. The Law Commission’s proposed approach has the potential to: • protect eligible cohabitants who are economically vulnerable • preserve individual autonomy; The rights of cohabiting partners 27 • maintain a distinction with marriage and civil partnership; and • provide certainty about who qualifies as a cohabitant.