Particular circumstances may change the outcome. We have developed this Digital Tool to help you navigate your way through the most common legal questions which may arise when resolving the financial outcome of a divorce or civil partnership dissolution.
Legal advice should always be taken. Skip to main content. Search form Search. Relationship Agreements. Cohabitation and Common Law Marriage. If you are not a named tenant:. Similar rules apply if the property is owned by one of you. The property owner is the only one entitled to live there - anyone else can be asked to leave. The owner can also make decisions - such as selling the property - without consulting their partner.
However, even where only one of you owns the property, the other may have some rights eg to a share of the money if the property is sold. This can happen if:. Owning a property in joint names can help to protect the rights of both cohabiting partners, but there are potential pitfalls. For example:. Whatever your circumstances, a written cohabitation agreement detailing what contributions you will each make and what share of the home you are each entitled to, minimises the risk of future disputes.
Cohabiting couples have no legal duty to support each other financially, either while you are living together or if you separate. Nor do you automatically share ownership of your possessions, savings, investments and so on.
Again, a written cohabitation agreement can help avoid disputes: for example, by setting out how much you each contribute to a joint account and how ownership of any items bought using the money will be shared. If you have any debts in joint names eg credit cards , you are normally each liable for the debt. If your partner fails to pay, you can be pursued for the full amount. You may also both be liable for household bills. The court can order the violent partner to leave the home for a certain period of time and, if the court order is not obeyed, the violent partner can be arrested.
A man can be convicted of raping his partner, whether or not they're married or living together. For more information, see Domestic Violence. An unmarried couple can separate informally without the intervention of a court. The court does have power to make orders relating to the care of the children. Find out more about deciding what to do when you separate. A married couple can separate informally but if you want to end the marriage formally, you will need to go to court and get divorced. Both partners have a right to stay in the home until either there has been a divorce or the court has ordered one partner to leave.
You can read more about ending a marriage. Neither partner has a legal duty to support the other financially. If you have children, find out how to arrange child maintenance. If you and your partner live together and are claiming a means-tested benefit, you'll be treated as a couple and your income will be assessed jointly. If your partner won't support you, you can ask a court to order them to support you. Your ex-partner may have to continue to support you after your marriage has ended if you have made a legal agreement or if there is a court order.
As a tenant, your rights will depend largely on your tenancy status. If you're not sure what this is, you can check what type of tenancy you have if you:. If you are the unmarried partner of a tenant, whether in private or social housing accommodation, you will usually have no rights to stay in the accommodation if the tenant asks you to leave.
It is therefore advisable for partners who are living together to be joint tenants, as this gives them equal rights and responsibilities. Many social housing landlords will require partners who live together to take on a tenancy as joint tenants.
It is possible to convert existing sole tenancies to joint tenancies if the sole tenant and the landlord agree. However, as an unmarried partner, you can get short-term rights to stay by applying to court. Find out how to apply to the court to get short-term rights to stay. You can also get long-term rights to stay by applying to court to transfer a tenancy, whether it's a sole or joint tenancy. Find out how to apply to the court to get long-term rights to stay. You may also have different rights if your partner has been violent towards you.
If your partner has been violent towards you, see Domestic violence. If you are an unmarried partner who is not a tenant and need to stay in the home, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, a family law solicitor - your local Citizens Advice will be able to give details of local solicitors. For more information, find out what happens to your home when you separate. If a sole tenant dies, a surviving partner may have the right to continue living in the home.
If you are in this situation, you should seek legal advice. Both married partners have the right to live in the matrimonial home. It does not matter in whose name the tenancy agreement was made. This applies unless a court has ordered otherwise, for example, in the course of separation or divorce proceedings. If you and your ex-partner both agree on who should stay in the home, you can ask the landlord to transfer the tenancy into the name of the partner who is staying.
If both names are on the tenancy, you can ask for the tenancy to be put in your name. If you can't agree on who should stay and you are divorcing, the long-term right to your tenancy can be decided alongside divorce proceedings.
The court can transfer the tenancy to your name, even if your partner is the sole tenant, or you and your partner were joint tenants. You can find out more about what happens to your home when you separate. If you're not separating legally, for example, divorcing, the court will only agree to transfer a tenancy if it decides it is in the best interests of your children.
You can find out how to apply to court to transfer a tenancy for the benefit of children. If you want to apply to transfer a tenancy, you should do this at the same time that you apply for a divorce. If you don't do this, it may not be possible for the tenancy to be transferred at a later date.
If you are the sole owner , you have a right to stay in the home. However, your partner may be able to claim a 'beneficial interest' in it — see below. If you are joint owners , you and your partner have equal rights to stay in the home. If your partner is the sole owner , you may have no rights to remain in the home if you are asked to leave.
If you have children, you can ask a court to transfer the property into your name. The court will only do this if it decides it is in the best interests of your children. It is usually done for a limited period, for example, until your youngest child is 18 years old. If you don't have children and your partner is the sole owner , the only way you may be able to claim long-term rights to the property is if you are able to show you have a 'beneficial interest' in it.
This is a way of getting a court to formally recognise contributions you have made towards the home. The court could also recognise an understanding you had with your ex-partner when you bought the home that you would have a share in it if it were sold. If you are able to prove you have a beneficial interest in the home, you may be able, for example, to get the right to live in the home, prevent your ex-partner from living there or get a share of the proceeds if the home is sold.
You may be able to ask a court to make a decision about who has the right to stay in the home on a short-term basis. This is called an occupation order. You can also apply for an occupation order to allow you to return to the home if you've left. You can apply for an occupation order if you're the sole owner , joint owner , have a beneficial interest or are the partner of a sole owner.
However, if you're not the owner or joint owner, you can only apply for certain types of occupation order. An occupation order usually lasts for only a limited period of time. If you want to claim beneficial interest in your home or apply for an occupation order, you will need to get legal advice about this.
Read more about domestic violence or abuse. You can contact your nearest Citizens Advice for help. Both married partners have a right to remain in the matrimonial home, regardless of who bought it or has a mortgage on it. This is known as home rights. Marriage Marriage contract To change of matrimonial regime International marriage Marriage, Pacs, cohabitation : comparison. Civil Union Solidarity civil pact. Divorce Divorce procedures Divorce and distribution of property Sell or buy a property during a divorce procedure Fate of debts and loans undertaken during the marriage Divorce and tax reporting Divorce: consequences for the children Divorce: fate of donations and other advantages from spouses.
Donation Rules to know for a donation Donation with right of usufruct Donation and peculiar clauses Manual donations Donation-partage and intergenerational donation Donation between spouses Donation: Taxation and deduction. Estate Set up the heritage reserve Life insurance Death: Procedures to carry out Fate of the dwelling at the time of death Rights of the surviving spouse Order of heirs and scale of inheritance rights Inheritance settlement Usufruct.
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