Govt consults on equal rights for unmarried couples

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The Law Commission has put forward a series of provisional proposals to allow cohabiting couples the same rights as those who are married or in civil partnerships.

In the consultation paper published today, the Commission focuses on the financial hardship suffered by people cohabiting, or their children, when a relationship ends for whatever reasons. Some of the topics included in the document cover: Whether cohabitants should be allowed the right to periodical payments, lump sums or transfers of property following a separation, in the same manner as settlements and maintenance payments are awarded in a divorce; When a cohabitant dies without a will, it asks whether the surviving partner should have an automatic right to inherit, the same a...

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