Cohabitation Reform Is Long Overdue – But It Won't End Inheritance Act Claims

The Ministry of Justice's consultation, A Fairer End to Relationships, proposes the most significant expansion of cohabitants' rights in England and Wales for a generation. If implemented, the reforms would fundamentally alter the legal landscape for millions of couples and go some way towards addressing the long-standing mismatch between modern family life and the law.

For many practitioners, the proposals will be welcomed. However, they are unlikely to reduce the importance of claims under the Inheritance Act 1975to the extent some commentators suggest.

Indeed, the reforms may ultimately reinforce the continuing importance of the 1975 Act by highlighting the limits of a needs-based system of protection.

A Significant Step Forward for Cohabitants

For decades, cohabitants have occupied an uncomfortable legal position.

Despite cohabitation becoming increasingly common, unmarried couples have no automatic entitlement under the intestacy rules and limited legal protection on relationship breakdown. When a partner dies, many surviving cohabitants are forced to rely on the 1975 Act simply to obtain financial security.

The consultation seeks to address those shortcomings through a package of reforms that would provide cohabitants with protections that simply do not exist today.

Most significantly, qualifying cohabitants would acquire automatic rights to inherit under the intestacy rules. A surviving partner who currently faces the prospect of receiving nothing from an estate could instead inherit as of right, providing a degree of certainty and financial protection previously reserved for spouses and civil partners.

The proposals would also grant qualifying cohabitants the right to administer an estate. This is more than a procedural change. At present, a surviving partner can find themselves excluded not only from inheritance but also from the process of dealing with the estate itself, leaving decisions in the hands of relatives who may have had little involvement in the deceased's life. The reforms would recognise the reality of the relationship and give surviving partners a meaningful role in the administration of the estate.

Beyond death, the consultation proposes a statutory framework for financial remedies following separation. This would represent a major shift from the current position, where separating cohabitants often discover that the concept of a "common law marriage" offers no legal protection and that their rights depend upon complex and often expensive claims founded on property and trust law principles. The new regime would provide a clearer and more accessible route to financial relief.

The proposals also recognise that cohabiting relationships frequently create the same forms of economic dependency and vulnerability found within marriage. Enhanced protections for vulnerable partners and dependent children would acknowledge the reality that one partner may have sacrificed earning capacity, career progression or pension provision for the benefit of the family unit.

Taken together, these reforms would move the law significantly closer to the realities of modern family life. They would reduce the risk of financial hardship, increase certainty and provide many cohabitants with rights that are currently unavailable.

The Gap the Reforms Do Not Fill

The crucial point, however, is that the consultation does not seek to place cohabitants in the same position as spouses.

The proposed framework is deliberately limited. It is built around meeting needs rather than sharing wealth. There is no equivalent of the matrimonial sharing principle. There is no presumption that assets accumulated during a relationship should be divided equally. Nor is there any broad compensatory principle recognising career sacrifice or lost economic opportunity.

That distinction matters.

Many of the disputes that generate 1975 Act claims do not arise because a surviving partner receives nothing. They arise because what they receive is insufficient.

The proposed reforms may reduce the number of cohabitants who are entirely excluded from an estate. They are far less likely to eliminate disputes about whether the provision received adequately reflects the claimant's needs and circumstances.

Why the 1975 Act Will Remain Essential

Even if cohabitants acquire automatic inheritance rights, no statutory scheme can anticipate every family arrangement.

Blended families, second relationships, competing beneficiaries, family businesses and contested estates will continue to generate disputes. A surviving cohabitant may inherit under the intestacy rules yet still lack adequate housing, income or long-term financial security.

In those circumstances, the 1975 Act remains indispensable.

It provides the mechanism through which the court can examine the particular facts of the case, assess the claimant's needs and determine whether further provision should be made from the estate.

The reforms therefore do not replace the need for 1975 Act claims. Rather, they alter the starting point. Instead of being used simply to avoid complete exclusion, claims may increasingly focus on the adequacy of provision received.

Evolution Rather Than Replacement

The consultation represents a welcome and overdue recognition that cohabitants deserve greater legal protection.

If implemented, the reforms would provide meaningful rights on separation and death, reduce hardship and bring the law closer to the way many families actually live.

But they are not intended to create parity with marriage, nor are they designed to eliminate litigation.

As long as the legal framework prioritises needs over sharing, there will continue to be cases where statutory entitlements fall short and judicial intervention is required.

For contentious probate practitioners, the message is clear. The reforms may reduce the number of cohabitants who need to bring claims under the 1975 Act. They are unlikely to reduce the importance of the Act itself.

The future of cohabitation law may be changing, but the need for Inheritance Act claims is not going away any time soon.