Cohabitation Agreements And Disputes
More and more couples today choose to cohabit than they have done historically. Many live with a view to eventually getting married. Not every relationship however makes it that far. Many cohabiting couples do not realise that under English law there is no such thing as ‘common law wife’. Thus simply by cohabiting for a period of time cohabitees do not in fact acquire the rights and responsibilities of a married couple nor do they attain the types of remedies available to married couples on the breakdown of their relationship.
Cohabitees have to turn to other areas of law to resolve the disputes they have. These are governed by trust and property laws which have evolved over the years. Many cohabitees therefore find themselves in dispute with their former partners. They have to bring an application under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 to bring about a resolution to the problem.
