The idea of “common law husband and wife” is a myth. It is essential to know that when a couple breaks-up, the laws affecting married and unmarried couples are significantly different when it comes to financial matters. Six out of every ten couples who live together believe that they have the same financial protection as married couples if they split up. They don’t!

Here are some of the important facts you need to know about:

• Your Home – if your family home is owned and not rented, sorting out your right to any of the equity could require the land registry records and property purchase documents to be carefully examined. Your rights to remain living in the property which might have been your home for many years will also need to be carefully considered.
• Pensions – you have no rights to claim a share of your ex-partner’s pension funds.
• Maintenance – you have no right to ask your ex-partner for maintenance for yourself, but if you have a child together then the need for child maintenance payments should be considered.
• The best outcome is usually one which is resolved away from court, when you retain control over what happens and avoid high legal fees, rather than have a judge tell you what to do after a long legal process and a costly final hearing in court.
• Whilst some separating couples can calmly discuss future financial arrangements and reach an agreement between themselves, this is often easier said than done. However, even if you have a serious disagreement, there are still several options to try in order to avoid an expensive court battle, which include the Collaborative Family Law process and Family Mediation.
• Non-legal help – when planning for your future, you might benefit from advice and guidance from other local professionals who are better trained and experienced to provide specialist financial or personal help than lawyers. See our useful links for more information
• Financial Agreement – when an out of court agreement is reached, this should be recorded in a legally binding agreement. We can help you prepare the agreement and also take steps to ensure its smooth implementation, providing you with financial certainty and security for the future.

Contact the Family Team on 01202 849 242 for a free telephone consultation about your circumstances and to ask any questions.