Rights of woman in unmarried partnership?

[yellowallpaper]

My friend is in a long term relationship. One child. DP is the main earner, although she works in his business regularly. They are happy, but the house is in his sole name, ditto the mortgage. He pays the bills, she is on very little paperwork. They have no legal partnership, even the business is solely his. He was married before and reluctant to take the same path.

I've said the my friend she has very little status in the law if they were to separate but she thinks there's something called common law wife. I've told her this is a myth. Is there any safeguards apart from marriage she can get? What is her true position?

She has few rights and there is no such thing as a common law wife. Do they have wills?

The myth of common law marriage. At least she isn't alone in thinking this exists - apparently 2 in 3 people do, which is horrifying.

She has made herself extremely vulnerable by not bothering to do any research, I'd suggest she gets herself off to a solicitor quickly to find out what she can do to improve her position. Always assuming he wants to - I notice that he has protected his interests extremely well at the expense of the mother of his child.

She's 100% dependent on him and his goodwill. Should they split, she's a homeless, jobless single mum.

And it's not much better should he die suddenly in an accident. A Will would at least protect her in this circumstance, though again, should they split, a Will can be changed.

I know is not a popular newspaper on here, but aside from the financial vulnerabilities in her position, this might be worth a read too:

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-7334313/amp/I-never-felt-marriage-important-day-Paolo-died.html

She needs her name on everything.

Also wills and ensure that insurances name her as beneficiary

Though when not married he could change his will and insurance and had would have less of case to object to it.

If they are married and she challenged him leaving the property with someone else she would have a better case.

Ita shocking how many women believe common law is something legal in england and put themselves in a shit position when a quick Google will tell you it doesnt exist.

If they lived in Australia, she'd be OK. But not in England/Wales/NI. Not sure about Scotland.

She needs at bare minimum to get a job outside his business. If they split or he dies, she won't even have a valid reference for another job, never mind the job. He also needs life insurance that SHE OWNS - as, without a will, she can't inherit any he holds in his own name.

Her home isn't even hers.

She is in a tremendously precarious position, OP. Can't you google this and show her the results?

Get her to read this

www.mumsnet.com/relationships/legal-rights-for-unmarried-couples

She is currently in a very vulnerable position

As stated, she has pretty much no rights but she’s not in a strong position to get him to make changes and if she’s bought the common law myth and “it’s just a piece of paper” she’s unlikely to listen to you.

She’d be best off getting a proper job so she has her own income but if she trusts him I doubt she will.

There is no such thing as a common law wife. English law is incredibly conservative in this regard. So she has zero legal rights and by the looks of it zero beneficial interest in the property they share.

The position in Scotland is a bit better But not ideal
Get married is the best advice to anyone in this situation
If not essential to try and protect matters as far as possible
The worst thing people can do and do is assume it will all be ok

What happens to her money, that she earns from the business?

Basically, she is working for him, enabling him to buy property to which she has absolutely no right.

Has she got a pension, as part of her work for his company?

I’m her shoes I would tell him how, as mother to his child, she is now 100% insecure and they need to marry.

If he refused to marry I would get a full time job elsewhere, with pension, tell him he has to pay 50% of childcare and do 50% of all household duties, and after making a fair contribution to bills, save every penny in my own savings account.

If he won’t give her financial security she needs to go out and get it for herself.

How in 2019 in the age of the internet where ALL information is out the for the asking are people still so fucking oblivious to their own fucking rights (and lack of)

Thing is Cruella you don't know what you don't know.

It would take 5 minutes to mention this at school. Wish I'd known more about the legal implications of marriage...

But fotheringhay, if you're not married and you decide to have children, and you're not on the mortgage, surely you think, oh hang on what rights do I have? And then well look it up. Even if you think you are 'common law' what do you think that actually means? I would be thinking, well maybe I have the same rights after x number of years or similar, I know, I'll google it....

Yes I agree, so would I, I'm just thinking why some women wouldn't. Probably more likely is a faith that the relationship will never end, or "he'll be fair about money" if it did.

Even very intelligent people can avoid thinking about things if it makes them uncomfortable/nervous.

I have an unmarried friend with 3 dc splitting up at the moment, she's convinced he'll treat her fairly but I'm not so confident. Luckily there's money in her family, but still.

As she works in his business she should get a pension organised via the business, and of course make sure that her NI payments are being properly recorded in order to protect her rights to a state pension. Make sure she keeps her P60s in case of queries.

They have a joint account I think, she has access to plenty of money and DP isn't in any way abusive. I'm not even sure how she is paired let alone NI contributions etc. I just think it's total ignorance on both parts, and a reluctance to get married again on his. He was taken to the cleaners by his ex and lots of bad blood, so I think he wants to avoid all that again.

I think I'm going to have to have a very uncomfortable conversation

Cruella, it's because there's all kinds f garbage on the internet.

This is why the legal aid cuts of 2012 were so devasting. People like the OP's friend used to be able to walk into their nearest law centre and get free advice from an actual professional.

Yeah, I guess you're right. Too many of us are not aware of our (lack of) rights.

I suppose all we can do is make sure those around us are aware

People like the OP's friend used to be able to walk into their nearest law centre and get free advice from an actual professional.

But its knowing you need the advice I think is the issue. If you go to .Gov sites you know its correct

I doubt it's ignorance on his part but if he's been there before and lsot a lot of money as a result, he might indeed doesn't want to take that risk again especially if the ex left him.

Your friend needs to wake up to the reality. Either they work out something so that she is prote Ted in some way if not through marriage or she needs to say to him that she needs to protect herself by working FT away from his business and childcare is shared.

Neither of them can have all their way.

One practical option with regard to the house is they can get a deed of trust drawn up which specifies that they are tenants in common and who owns what proportion of the home. My partner is the "legal" owner of our home but we actually own it beneficially 50/50. But it can be complicated and she needs her own independent legal advice.

Some states in the USA recognize a common law marriage, but it is very specific. She would have to use his name in public and on documents - Mrs. John Doe. He would have to introduce her publically as "my wife, Jane Doe". Any children they have would have to be registered as Baby Does with both parents signing the certificate. Also, they would need a joint account of some kind -- insurance, savings, retirement. And they would need to maintain the relationship for a period of at least seven years.
If she thinks she is protected, she needs to see a lawyer in the area where they live and confirm it. If she misses even one of the requirements then she is just a roommate with benefits.

Yes, ex wife left him, took the house, awkward over children, destroyed the business so that he had to start again from scratch. He has worked hard to rebuild a business, buy a house and pays full maintenance to his children, so I can see his reluctance but my friend is basically a lodger.