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Legal News Update
19 September 2011
Proposals allowing separating co-habitees claims on each other’s property is shelved
Following a consultation of two years the Law Commission in a 2007 report entitled ‘Cohabitation: the financial consequences of relationship breakdown’ had recommended that couples who had cohabited for a certain period, or had children together, would be granted entitlements on each other’s property when they split up. The proposals had been met with controversy and both the labour and coalition Governments had agreed to wait until observing the consequences of the enactment of a similar regime in Scotland before deciding whether to adopt them.
Following such observation, it has now been concluded that the reforms will not be brought in to the law of England and Wales. Justice Minister, Jonathan Djanogly, said: "The findings ... do not provide us with a sufficient basis for a change in the law. Furthermore, the family justice system is in a transitional period, with major reforms already on the horizon." In making its decision, the Department of Justice acknowledged that co-habiting couples are able to make Wills benefiting each other and to enter into binding cohabitation agreements to protect their position.
Elizabeth Cooke, of the Law Commission, expressed her desire that the proposals have merely been postponed. She said "we hope that implementation will not be delayed beyond the early days of the next Parliament, in view of the hardship and injustice caused by the current law. The prevalence of cohabitation, and of the birth of children to couples who live together, means that the need for reform of the law can only become more pressing over time."