Living Together? Why Cohabiting Couples Need a Will

Living together can feel every bit as permanent and committed as marriage. You may share a home, finances, children and plans for the future. But when it comes to inheritance, the law does not necessarily view your relationship in the same way.

One of the most common misconceptions we encounter at Complete Estate Protection is the belief that an unmarried partner will automatically inherit if the other person dies.

In England and Wales, there is no automatic inheritance right for a cohabiting partner simply because you have lived together for a certain number of years. The idea of a legally recognised “common-law spouse” does not provide the inheritance protection many people assume it does.

Without appropriate estate planning, this can leave a surviving partner facing serious financial uncertainty at an already extremely difficult time.

If you die without a Will, will your partner inherit?

When someone dies without leaving a valid Will, they are said to have died “intestate”. Their estate is then distributed according to the rules of intestacy, rather than according to what they might have wanted.

Those rules make provision for certain relatives, including spouses, civil partners and children. An unmarried partner, however, does not automatically inherit under the intestacy rules.

That distinction can have significant consequences.

Your partner could potentially receive nothing from your estate, even if you have shared your lives for decades. Assets you regarded as belonging to you as a couple could instead pass to your children or other family members.

The situation can become particularly difficult where your home forms part of the estate. Depending on how the property is owned, your interest in it could pass to somebody other than your partner. This could create uncertainty over whether your partner can continue living in the property and, in some circumstances, could ultimately put their home at risk.

It isn’t only high-value assets that matter. Personal belongings and items with considerable sentimental value can also form part of an estate and may not automatically pass to the person you would have chosen.

Could your partner make a claim against your estate?

In certain circumstances, a surviving cohabiting partner may be able to make a claim for financial provision from an estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

However, having the possibility of bringing a claim is very different from having your wishes properly documented in advance.

Claims against estates can involve legal costs, uncertainty and additional stress. They can also create disagreements between a surviving partner and other family members at a time when everyone involved may already be grieving.

At Complete Estate Protection, our focus is on helping families put appropriate plans in place beforehand, rather than leaving loved ones to resolve uncertainty after someone has died.

A Will puts you in control

Making a Will allows you to decide who should benefit from your estate instead of relying on the default rules.

For cohabiting couples in particular, a carefully prepared Will can be an important part of protecting the surviving partner. It can allow you to provide for your partner, leave particular assets or possessions to them and appoint people you trust to administer your estate.

Just as importantly, it creates clarity.

When your wishes are properly recorded, your family has a much clearer understanding of what you wanted to happen. This can reduce uncertainty and lessen the potential for disagreements at an already difficult time.

What happens when children are involved?

Estate planning can become more complicated when you have children, particularly where there are children from previous relationships.

You may want your partner to have financial security while also ensuring that an inheritance is ultimately preserved for your children.

Simply leaving matters to the intestacy rules may not achieve the balance you have in mind.

A properly considered estate plan gives you the opportunity to think about the needs of everyone important to you and decide how you would like your assets to be dealt with.

Do you own your home together?

For many couples, their property is their largest asset, so understanding how it is owned is an important part of estate planning.

If you own your property as joint tenants, the surviving joint owner will normally become entitled to the property automatically through the right of survivorship.

If you own it as tenants in common, each owner has a separate share. Your share does not automatically transfer to your partner when you die. Instead, it forms part of your estate and is dealt with under your Will or, if you do not have a valid Will, under the intestacy rules.

This distinction can have a major impact on what happens after your death.

As part of the estate planning process, it is therefore important to understand not only what you own, but how you own it, and whether those arrangements support what you want to happen in the future.

Estate planning is about more than inheritance

A Will is sometimes viewed simply as a document that says who gets what. In reality, good estate planning is about much more than dividing assets.

It is about providing certainty for the people closest to you.

For an unmarried couple, that can be particularly important because the law may not provide the protection you expect. Putting your wishes in writing can help give your partner greater security, make the administration of your estate clearer and reduce the likelihood of difficult decisions being left to others.

At Complete Estate Protection, we believe planning ahead should give you confidence that the people you care about have been properly considered and that your wishes are clearly documented.

Could the law on cohabiting couples change?

The legal position of cohabiting couples has been debated for many years.

In June 2026, the Government launched a consultation looking at possible reforms concerning the financial rights of people who live together without marrying or entering a civil partnership. This includes proposals relating to what happens when cohabiting relationships end and what protection may be available following the death of a partner who has not made a Will.

You can find further information in the Government’s consultation, “A Fairer End to Relationships”.

However, possible future reform should not be a reason to postpone making a Will.

The law may change, but relying on default legal rules still means allowing legislation to determine what happens to your estate. A Will gives you the opportunity to make your own decisions and clearly record what you want to happen.

Protecting the person you share your life with

If you live with your partner but are not married or in a civil partnership, it is worth reviewing what would actually happen if either of you died.

Would your partner be able to remain in your home? Would they receive the assets you intended them to have? Who would administer your estate? And would your current arrangements provide the financial security you would want for them?

If the answers aren’t clear, now may be the right time to put appropriate planning in place.

Complete Estate Protection can help you review your circumstances, understand your options and put a Will and wider estate plan in place that reflects what matters to you.

Planning today can provide valuable certainty for the people you leave behind.

Complete Estate Protection can help you structure your Will and Executor appointments so that your wishes are clear, practical and designed to make the eventual administration of your estate as straightforward as possible.If you’d like advice on protecting your estate and your family’s future, get in touch with Complete Estate Protection today.

📞 01642 493101
📧 info@ceprotection.com