Common Law Marriage (Myth)

The government's own consultation on cohabitation reform gives an official definition of exactly this myth: '"Common law marriage myth": the mistaken belief that unmarried couples can obtain rights similar to those of married couples' if they have lived together for a period of time or have a child. The same consultation notes that over 3.5 million couples live together without getting married or entering a civil partnership — a number that has more than doubled over the past three decades — yet despite this, cohabiting couples and their children have very limited financial protections should a relationship end.

This is not settled history: a Ministry of Justice consultation launched in June 2026 is actively considering reform, including giving bereaved unmarried partners automatic rights to inheritance if a partner dies without a will. That is a proposal for future law, not a description of current rights — under the present law, unmarried partners remain in the position the 'myth' wrongly assumes they have already escaped.