General Article Common-law marriage myth highlights desperate need for reform

This article is 9 years old. Click here to view the latest articles for this topic.

 

Helen Jenks, The University of Law

Your common-law wife and husband do not exist.

Next month will see the latest stage in the latest attempt to improve the legal standing for people that live together but choose not to marry. With nearly six million unmarried couples living outside marriage or a civil partnership in the UK, there is a real urgency for legal clarity for cohabitants who find themselves separating.

Not least, because of the persistence of the so called “common-law marriage myt...

Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?

Sign up now for a no obligation FREE TRIAL and view the entire collection