In England and Wales, there is no such thing as a “common law spouse.” If your unmarried partner dies without a will, you have no automatic right to inherit their estate — regardless of how long you lived together. The intestacy rules treat you as a legal stranger. This guide explains what happens, what you can do, and how to protect your partner today.
The myth of the “common law spouse” is one of the most dangerous legal misconceptions in England and Wales. Millions of cohabiting couples believe that living together for a certain period — whether six months, two years, or ten years — automatically grants them the same legal rights as a married couple. It does not.
Under the Administration of Estates Act 1925 and the Intestacy Rules that govern England and Wales, an unmarried partner is entirely absent from the hierarchy of inheritance. When a person dies without a valid will — known as dying “intestate” — their estate is distributed according to a strict legal order that begins with spouses and civil partners, moves to children and blood relatives, and ultimately passes to the Crown. An unmarried partner, regardless of the length or depth of the relationship, receives nothing.
This affects over 3.6 million couples in England and Wales
The Office for National Statistics estimates that over 3.6 million couples in England and Wales cohabit without being married or in a civil partnership. The vast majority have no will and no legal protection. The Government has acknowledged that this disproportionately affects women and vulnerable people — but legislative reform has been slow. The only reliable protection available today is a professionally drafted will.
Under the Administration of Estates Act 1925, the Rules of Intestacy set out a strict hierarchy of inheritance. An unmarried partner does not appear anywhere in this list.
Inherits the entire estate outright, or the first £322,000 plus personal possessions plus half the remainder if there are children.
Your unmarried partner receives nothing — regardless of how long you lived together.
Inherit everything if there is no surviving spouse, or share the remainder above £322,000 equally.
Children from a previous relationship may inherit the entire estate, leaving your partner with nothing.
Inherit if there is no surviving spouse or children.
Your partner could be excluded while distant relatives inherit.
The estate passes to the Crown if there are no qualifying relatives.
Even the Crown takes priority over an unmarried partner under English law.
Note on the £322,000 threshold: Under the current intestacy rules in England and Wales, where the deceased leaves both a surviving spouse and children, the spouse receives all personal possessions plus the first £322,000 of the estate outright, plus half of any remainder. Children share the other half of the remainder. This threshold is periodically reviewed by the Lord Chancellor.
How you own your home determines whether your partner can stay in it after your death. The difference between joint tenancy and tenants in common can mean the difference between keeping the family home and being forced to sell it.
The dangerous default
If you own your home as tenants in common, each partner owns a defined share — typically 50%. When one partner dies without a will, their share does not automatically pass to the survivor. Instead, it passes under the intestacy rules to the deceased's blood relatives. The surviving partner could be forced to sell the family home to pay out those relatives.
Partial protection only
If you own your home as joint tenants, the right of survivorship means the property automatically passes to the surviving partner outside the will and outside the intestacy rules. However, this only covers the property itself. All other assets — savings, investments, pensions, personal possessions — held in the deceased's sole name are still lost to the cohabitee under intestacy.
How to check your ownership structure
You can check how you own your property by searching the Land Registry title register at gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry. The register will show whether you hold the property as joint tenants or tenants in common. If you are tenants in common and do not have a will, contact a solicitor immediately. Even if you are joint tenants, a will is still essential to protect all other assets.
If your partner has died without a will — or left a will that makes no provision for you — the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 is your primary legal remedy. This Act allows the court to rewrite the distribution of an estate where “reasonable financial provision” has not been made for a qualifying claimant.
Crucially, the 1975 Act applies whether the deceased died intestate or left a will that excluded you. It is not limited to intestacy cases. If a will was made but failed to make adequate provision for you, you can still apply to the court.
To bring a claim as a cohabitee, you must prove that you were living with the deceased in the same household as their husband, wife, or civil partner for a continuous period of at least two years immediately before the date of death. This is a strict requirement — gaps in cohabitation, even brief ones, can undermine a claim.
Two years' continuous cohabitation immediately before death
Living together as husband and wife (or civil partners)
Periods of separation break the continuity requirement
Living apart at the date of death disqualifies the claim
The court considers the total value of the estate and what is available to distribute.
Your current income, earning capacity, financial needs, and existing resources are all assessed.
Any disability affecting the claimant's ability to support themselves financially.
The court balances your claim against the needs of children, other dependants, and beneficiaries.
The six-month deadline is strict
A claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 must be issued in the court within six months of the date of the Grant of Probate. This deadline is strictly enforced. The court has discretion to extend it in exceptional circumstances, but extensions are rarely granted. If you believe you have a claim, contact a contentious probate solicitor immediately — do not wait.
The cost of bringing an Inheritance Act claim should not be a barrier to justice. Many probate dispute solicitors — including PDA Law — offer Conditional Fee Agreements (commonly known as “No Win, No Fee”) for inheritance claims where the prospects of success are strong.
Under a No Win, No Fee agreement, you pay nothing if the claim is unsuccessful. If the claim succeeds, the solicitor's fees are typically recovered from the estate or paid from the settlement. This means that a cohabitee who has been left with nothing by the intestacy rules can pursue a legitimate claim without financial risk.
You pay nothing to start your claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement.
The court has wide powers to make provision from the estate, including lump sums, property transfers, and periodical payments.
The six-month deadline from the Grant of Probate is strict. Contact a solicitor immediately.
The only reliable way to protect your unmarried partner is to make a will. A professionally drafted will overrides the intestacy rules entirely and allows you to leave your estate to whoever you choose.
A will can grant your partner the right to live in your home for the rest of their life — or until they remarry or cohabit with someone else. On their death, the property passes to your children or other chosen beneficiaries. This balances protecting your partner with preserving capital for your family.
A will can leave specific assets — the family home, savings accounts, investments, personal possessions — directly to your partner. Unlike intestacy, a will allows you to make any provision you choose, regardless of whether you are married.
A property trust holds your share of the home for your partner's benefit during their lifetime, while preserving the capital for your children. This is particularly valuable in blended families where you want to protect both your partner and children from a previous relationship.
A life interest trust written into your will allows your partner to receive income from the estate during their lifetime, while the capital is preserved for other beneficiaries. This is a flexible structure that can be tailored to your specific family circumstances.
DIY wills — whether downloaded from the internet or purchased from a stationery shop — are a major source of probate disputes in England and Wales. For cohabiting couples, where the stakes are highest, the risks are particularly acute. Common reasons DIY wills fail include:
If you are cohabiting without a will, take these steps now to protect your partner and your estate.
Search the Land Registry to confirm whether you own your home as joint tenants or tenants in common. If you are tenants in common, your partner has no automatic right to your share. A solicitor can sever a joint tenancy or change the ownership structure as part of your estate planning.
A professionally drafted will is the only document the Probate Registry will honour to override the intestacy rules. For cohabiting couples, a will is not optional — it is essential. Mirror wills (each partner leaving their estate to the other) are a common and cost-effective solution.
A cohabitation agreement sets out how assets will be divided if the relationship ends during your lifetime. It can also record financial contributions to property, protecting both partners' interests. While not a substitute for a will, it provides important additional protection.
Pensions do not pass under a will or the intestacy rules — they are distributed at the discretion of the pension trustees. Ensure your pension nomination form names your partner as the beneficiary. Without this, your pension could pass to your estate or to a previous beneficiary.
The most contentious inheritance disputes involving cohabitees arise in blended families — where one or both partners have children from a previous relationship. When a cohabitee dies without a will, their children from a prior relationship may inherit the entire estate, leaving the surviving partner with nothing. This is not a hypothetical risk: it is the default outcome under the intestacy rules in England and Wales.
The solution for blended families is a carefully structured will — often incorporating a life interest trust or property trust — that balances the competing interests of the surviving partner and the children from both relationships. This requires specialist legal advice. A standard “everything to my partner” will may not be appropriate where there are children from a previous relationship who also have legitimate claims.
Common questions about cohabitee inheritance rights in England and Wales.
No. Under the Rules of Intestacy in England and Wales, an unmarried partner has no automatic right to inherit their partner's estate if they die without a will. The intestacy rules prioritise spouses, civil partners, children, and blood relatives. An unmarried partner — regardless of how long they have lived together — is treated as a legal stranger to the estate.
The concept of a "common law spouse" does not exist in English law. No period of cohabitation — whether 6 months, 2 years, 10 years, or 30 years — automatically grants an unmarried partner the same legal rights as a spouse or civil partner. This is one of the most dangerous legal myths in England and Wales, and it leaves millions of cohabiting couples entirely unprotected.
Possibly. The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 allows a cohabitee to apply to the court for reasonable financial provision from the estate, provided they lived with the deceased as husband and wife (or as civil partners) for a continuous period of at least two years immediately before the death. The claim must be issued within six months of the Grant of Probate. The court has wide discretion and will consider the size of the estate, your financial needs, any disability, and the needs of other claimants.
It depends on how you own the property. If you are joint tenants, the right of survivorship means the property automatically passes to you — outside the will and outside the intestacy rules. If you are tenants in common, your partner's share passes under the intestacy rules to their blood relatives. You could be forced to sell the family home to pay out those relatives. Check your ownership structure at the Land Registry immediately.
You must issue your claim in the court within six months of the date of the Grant of Probate. This is a strict deadline. The court has discretion to extend it in exceptional circumstances, but extensions are rarely granted. If you believe you have a claim, contact a probate solicitor immediately — do not wait.
Yes. The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 applies whether the deceased died intestate or left a will that made inadequate provision for you. If you qualify as a cohabitee (two years' continuous cohabitation immediately before death) and the will failed to make reasonable financial provision for you, you can apply to the court to vary the distribution of the estate.
Mirror wills are two separate wills made by a couple that mirror each other — each leaving their estate to the other, with the same substitute beneficiaries if the other has already died. For cohabiting couples, mirror wills are one of the most important and cost-effective estate planning tools available. They override the intestacy rules entirely and ensure your partner inherits your estate as you intend.
The Law Commission has acknowledged that the lack of legal protection for cohabiting couples in England and Wales disproportionately affects women and vulnerable people. The law is under review, but legislative reform has been slow and uncertain. You should not wait for the law to change — the only reliable protection available today is a professionally drafted will.
Speak to a wills and estates solicitor today. Sensitive, professional advice — costs explained clearly before any work begins.
No obligation — talk through your options first. Chester, Cheshire & North Wales.
Whether you need to make a will to protect your partner, or you have been left out of an estate and need to explore an Inheritance Act claim, our solicitors can help. Contact us today for a confidential discussion.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will
The intestacy rules explained — who inherits and what happens to your estate.
Mirror Wills for Couples
How mirror wills work for couples and why they are essential for cohabitees.
Inheritance Act Claims
How to challenge an estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
Tenants in Common vs Joint Tenants
How property ownership structure affects inheritance for unmarried couples.
Family Asset Protection Trusts
Using trusts to protect assets for your partner and children.
Cohabitation Rights
The legal rights of cohabiting couples in England and Wales.
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