Cohabiting Couples Without Marriage

England and Wales do not recognise “common law marriage”. Living together for years does not automatically grant inheritance or insurance rights.

Intestacy leaves partners exposed

Without a will, an unmarried partner may inherit nothing. Children or blood relatives can take priority under intestacy rules. Life insurance written in trust to each other is one practical fix; a will is another — ideally both.

Joint mortgages need a payout plan

If both names are on the mortgage, survivors still need funds to keep paying. Joint life or mirrored singles should match the outstanding balance plus living costs for any children.

Nomination forms and pensions

Workplace pensions and death-in-service often ask for expression of wish forms. Update them when you move in together, buy a home, or have children — do not assume HR “knows”.

• Make wills naming each other and guardians if needed.
• Write life policies in trust to the partner or children.
• Update pension and group-life nominations.
• Review after buying property together.

Practical next steps

Treat this topic as a decision with paperwork attached. Write down the household facts that matter — who depends on income, which debts must clear, and which workplace benefits already exist — before you compare products. A clear brief stops glossy quotes from steering the plan.

When you speak to an insurer or adviser, ask for definitions and exclusions in writing, and keep PDFs of every illustration you rely on. Markets and underwriting change; your notes are the audit trail.

• Confirm what cover you already hold (personal and workplace).
• Size need against obligations, not round marketing numbers.
• Align wills, trusts, and nominations with the policy.
• Never cancel old cover until replacement is on risk.

Mistakes families make here

The common failure mode is optimising for the cheapest monthly figure while ignoring structure: joint versus single policies, accelerated versus additional benefits, and whether a trust exists at all. Another is letting group benefits create false confidence until a resignation removes them overnight.

Build a short annual review habit. An hour with schedules and nomination forms prevents most emergency weekends after a diagnosis or redundancy.