Families in England and Wales come in many different shapes and sizes and amongst all of these families there are both married and unmarried couples. But do these different couples have the same rights if their relationship ends due to death or separation? In short, no. Despite what many people think, a common law marriage is a concept that does not actually exist.
This means that unmarried couples are often left with no protection when a relationship ends, leaving some people with a risk of significant financial hardship and uncertainty about their future. Many people have campaigned for reform in the past and this has been considered under previous governments, but the law has remained unchanged in this area. However, this finally has the potential to change.
The current government has recently launched a consultation with a view to strengthen the financial rights of unmarried couples if their relationship comes to an end. This is to better reflect modern society and the fact that more and more couples are choosing to cohabit without marriage.
The consultation began on 5th June 2026 and will close on 14th August 2026. Following this the government will finalise the policy before the matter is put to Parliament.
This could mean big changes for a lot of people in our society in the future and is certainly a welcome change by many to ensure that more people are provided with greater protection when their relationship comes to an end for whatever reason.
However, nothing is set in stone yet and it is not clear exactly what will change, if anything, in the future. Whilst numerous suggestions have been made, it is important to remember that the matter is still in its early stages. Previous governments have looked at reform before, but this did not come to anything. It is also not yet known when any changes made will become law. For the time being it remains the case that there is no such thing as a common law marriage.
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