There are many myths about the law relating to those who live together which give people a false sense of security. The most common myth is that a relationship is protected by the law because it is considered to be a 'common law marriage'.

In fact, there are no such people as 'common law wives' and 'common law husbands', as the concept of a common law marriage was abolished way back in 1753 by the Marriage Act. It plays no part in the law of England and Wales, despite the fact that it is frequently referred to in the press.

However, in Scotland, there is a form of common law marriage called 'marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute'. The theory behind this law is that if a man and woman live together as husband and wife in Scotland for sufficient time and are generally held and considered to be husband and wife and are free to marry each other, it will be presumed that they have consented to marry each other. If this presumption is not overturned, they will be considered to be legally married. However, it is not easy to establish a marriage by this method. If you consider these circumstances may apply to you, you should consult a solicitor specialising in Scottish family law.

Do note, however, that “marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute” will not be valid for much longer. A Bill was passed on 15 December 2005, called the Family Law (Scotland) Bill, which has abolished this form of common law marriage for parties whose period of cohabitation starts after this Bill comes into force. Even though the Bill was passed in December, it has not yet come into force.

Gay couples who live together also have no special legal rights against each other unless they have registered their relationship as a Civil Partnership under the Civil Partnerships Act 2004 which came into force in December 2005.

So, to conclude, if you are a couple in England and Wales who are living together but are not married nor registered as a civil partnership, you have no special rights by virtue of your relationship against your partner if you separate, however long you have lived together and however many children you may have. This means that you may have no special rights for financial help if things go wrong. However, if you have bought a property together or you have contributed towards property owned by the other then in certain circumstances you can bring a claim.

Law stated as at 1 February, 2006