The Family Home
Married Couples
Both parties have a legal right to occupy the former matrimonial home even if the property is in one person’s sole name. This means that if a married couple separates, both persons still have a right to continue living in the property.
Cohabitees
If one person owns the property, in the majority of situations, only the owner has rights to the property unless the other party can show either:
- They contributed to the house deposit or mortgage payments
- Made a financial commitment, i.e. paying for significant work on the property with an understanding that they would own a share of the house
This means that if a cohabitee relationship ends, only the legal owner has a right to continue living in the property unless otherwise specified.
Children
Married Couples
Fathers automatically acquire parental responsibility for their children. This means that married fathers do not need to do anything to acquire parental responsibility because they automatically have it.
Cohabitees
Fathers have parental responsibility if they are named on their children’s birth certificates. However, for births before 1 December 2003, fathers did not automatically acquire parental responsibility even if named on the birth certificate.
This means that fathers who are not named on the birth certificate may need to look to obtain parental responsibility through alternative means.
Death with an Intestacy
This means that a person died without a Will or had an invalid one.
Married Couples
Parties may be able to inherit from their deceased spouse’s estate under the intestacy rules.
Cohabitees
Parties who are not the spouse or civil partner of the deceased person have no entitlement under the intestacy rules. However, they may be able to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (Inheritance Act 1975).
The contents of this post do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only.
Associated photo designed by Freepik.
The contents of this post do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only ■
