Changes to wills and inheritance laws leave common-law couples out of the loop
On the 1st of October 2014 changes to inheritance laws in England and Wales took effect, but the legal rights of common-law couples remained lacking in terms of automatic inheritance. The changes to intestacy rules, which determine who receives what when there is no will to provide guidance, will affect people who have over £250,000 in assets at the time of death. However, despite pressure from lawyers to award rights to cohabitees with children, or those who have lived together for more than five years, the laws remain the same, leaving ‘common-law’ partners with no legal protection if their partner dies. The current rules effectively mean that unmarried couples are treated as single ...