Common law rights

Loobyloo87

I have a friend who has been with her partner for 22 years they have a mortgage and two young children together but are not married. Her partner has recently passed away and is worried what will happen to her partners share of the mortgage etc as he has left no will and her partner has not spoken to his family in years. Will her partners belongings and assets be left to his children or will his parents have a right to it all? 

jackieblack

It depends whether the property is owned as joint tenants or tenants in common - if joint tenants then the property and mortgage both pass to the other joint owner automatically and do not form part of the deceased’s estate, if tenants in common then a certain % of the house is owned by each party and the deceased party’s % will be passed according to the rules of intestacy. 

https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/who-can-inherit-if-there-is-no-will-the-rules-of-intestacy/

There is no such thing as common law husband/wife, this has been well publicised during the discussions about civil partnerships in the last several  years. An unmarried partner has no inheritance rights if the deceased didn’t have a will.

Loobyloo87

Thank you for your response. 
Do you know if her partner had any savings would that money go to their children (who are under 18) or would his parents be able to claim it

74jax

The link posted shows exactly where the money goes to without a will. 

Keep_pedalling

I really despair that so many people in this position fail to make wills, it really is irresponsible not to do so.

Anything owned solely by him will go to his children, and as they are minors it will need to be held in trust until they reach the age of 18 (16 in Scotland)

Flugelhorn

and if they were tenants in common then his "share" of the house will go to the children. the ownership status of the house and any life insurance needs to be checked first 

Brynsam

If this is in Scotland, read on. 

There was a type of irregular marriage called 'marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute' which could apply to couples who had lived together and were thought to be married. This was rarely used in practice and, except for very particular circumstances, was abolished by the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006. Only irregular marriages established before 4 May 2006 are recognised.

If your friend wants to prove that the relationship (which clearly began before 4 May 2006) is a 'marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute', she will need to consult a solicitor for advice on how to do this. 

Wherever she lives, your friend might consider making a will to set out the guardianship arrangements for her children if anything happens to her.