Charities and legal organisations are urging the government to provide legal protection for cohabiting couples, as evidence emerges of an increase in deathbed weddings and civil partnerships. In a letter to the Guardian, a coalition including the Bar Council, the Law Society, and Resolution highlighted that one in eight adults in England and Wales now cohabits, a trend rising since 2002.
Many cohabiting couples mistakenly believe they have the same legal rights as married couples, but they lack inheritance and benefit rights when a partner dies. The number of cohabiting families in the UK has more than doubled from 1.5 million in 1996 to 3.3 million in 2017, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Figures from the ONS show a 2% rise in new civil partnerships last year, with over half of partners aged 50 or older. This suggests couples are belatedly formalising their relationships. Additionally, Passport Office data reveals an increase in urgent marriage licences, often used for deathbed weddings, with 190 issued in the three months to May 2018 compared to a quarterly average of 148 in 2015.
Family lawyer Jo Edwards noted that the difference in treatment between cohabitants and married couples on death is stark, citing the recent Siobhan McLaughlin case. She warned that most couples 'sleepwalk into difficulties' unaware of their lack of rights, and called for legal reform to offer cohabitants protection without the need for a deathbed wedding.
