Unmarried Partners

[Twinnie50]

I wish unmarried mum's had more rights, my partner has worked, but I have been the sole carer of the children. However my partner will not do a will, and I feel financially stressed. Also I don't know if I am entitled to his pension if he died. I did work before I had my children but I have never had support with childcare.

You likely wouldn’t be automatically entitled to his pension if he died no, although it’s possible that if you have a common child who was still financially dependent on him they might get it. Why won’t he do a will?

Why wont he do a will? How old are you? Can you go back to work and share the child rearing?

Do you know what is his reason for not making a will? Or does he have one that he's unwilling to amend (and you aren't a beneficiary)?

If he's made no provisions for you and you made sacrifices of your own career and earnings in order to raise the children you had in common, I'm afraid he's had you. Unfair as it may be, you probably have no claim.

There’s a brilliant remedy to this called marriage. He can also nominate you as the beneficiary of his pension should he died. If he refuses to take financial responsibility for you though you’ll have to sort yourself out.

I wish more adults took responsibility for themselves instead of expecting the government to nanny them when they make poor financial decisions and more women would stop procreating with and enabling sexist men to throw them under a bus financially.

What TheChief said.

There needs to be a decent myth busting campaign about the differences between married and unmarried partners because so many sleepwalk into your situation OP. Cultural references to common law marriage in US media also confuses some people.

We don't need more rights for unmarried partners, I think you either want to be a legally recognised couple or you don't.

@SnuggyBuggy

There needs to be a decent myth busting campaign about the differences between married and unmarried partners because so many sleepwalk into your situation OP. Cultural references to common law marriage in US media also confuses some people.

We don't need more rights for unmarried partners, I think you either want to be a legally recognised couple or you don't.

IIRC Australia has some common law legislation as well.

But I agree, we don't need more rights for unmarried partners, especially now there is also civil partnership available in England for unmarried couples.