With marriage on the decrease, unmarried couples and cohabiting families are the fasted growing type of household in the UK.
Contrary to popular belief, common law marriage or being a common-law spouse is a myth and does not exist in UK law.
Just because you have lived together, or have children together, does not mean the law offers you the same protection as it would if you were married, even if you have been together many years. Often people only discover this on the breakdown of a relationship and that is when it gets expensive to fight for what you believe is yours.
What does this mean in reality? Well, the harsh reality is that you have no right to a share of any savings, assets or business interests where they are in the sole name of your former partner. You also have no rights with respect to their pension. And, you are not entitled to claim financial maintenance for yourself.