Do unmarried couples need a will?

If your partner is a parent and dies without a will, their estate will be shared equally between their children. Even if they are living with you and your children from a previous relationship, neither you nor your children will receive anything from your current partner’s estate.

If any of your partner’s children have died, but had children of their own, theirgrandchildren or great-children can inherit their parent’s share.

For example: Sam and Kate were in a long term relationship. They were not married or in a civil partnership and neither had a willl.

Sam had two children from a previous relationship, called Harry and Nina. 

When Sam died, their estate was worth £300,000. Harry inherited £150,000 but, because Nina had already died, her £150,000 share was passed down to her only child.

Kate, Sam’s long term partner, inherited nothing.

Note: If Nina didn’t have children or grandchildren of her own, Harry would also have inherited her share.

In England and Wales, if your partner doesn’t have any children and dies without a will, their estate would be inherited by their close relatives in the following order of priority:

• Parents

• Brothers and sisters

• Half brothers and half sisters

• Grandparents

• Aunts and uncles

• Children of aunts and uncles (cousins)

The laws that set out who inherits when someone dies without a will are known as the rules of intestacy.

If you live with your partner but they own the house, you could be left in very difficult circumstances if they were to die unexpectedly.

Under the rules of intestacy, you wouldn’t stand to inherit their property or any of their assets. So, depending on your relationship with the people who inherit the house and what they choose to do with it, you may end up needing to move out.

By taking 15 minutes to write your wills today, your partner could leave you the house as part of their estate – or vice versa. This could help to save a huge amount of financial strain in the future.

If you live with your partner and you own the house together, the way you own the house will determine what happens next. There are two ways you could own the house:

• As joint tenants (sometimes called ‘beneficial joint tenants’) - you have equal rights to the whole property and the property automatically goes to the other owner when either one of you dies. You cannot pass your share of ownership in your will, which means if you have children from a previous relationship, they are not guaranteed your share.

• As tenants in common - you can own different shares of the property and the property does not automatically go to the other owner if you die, without a will it would pass under the rules of intestacy. 

If you have children from a previous relationship, and you would like them to inherit your share of your property, a property trust could help. It would enable your surviving partner to continue living in the property during their lifetime, but on their death, your share of your property would pass on to your children. 

If you and your partner have a joint mortgage, you would likely have to take on the property as a sole owner if they die first. This means that you’d be responsible for paying the mortgage, and you may even need to take out a new mortgage to make sure you can keep up with the payments.

Making a will allows unmarried partners to protect one another from situations like this. By leaving money and savings to your partner, you could give them the extra support they need to continue paying the mortgage. Many people protect themselves from this by taking out a life insurance policy that’s specifically designed to pay off the mortgage.

Unmarried and cohabiting partners have the legal right to claim against their partner’s estate if they’ve been cohabiting for more than two years. However, they aren’t automatically entitled to any of their partner’s property, financial assets, or belongings unless they’re jointly owned.

The term ‘common law partner’ is sometimes still used to describe two people who are living together as a couple and are not married or in a civil partnership. This term is not recognised in English law. It means that no matter how long you have been living together as a couple, you will not have the same rights or protection as a married couple, or a couple who have registered a civil partnership.

By making a will, you can help each other avoid the cost, time and stress that comes with claiming against an estate.

It costs around £1,000 to claim against someone’s estate and make a deed of variation. However, this is only possible if everyone who inherits the estate under the rules of intestacy agrees that the unmarried partner should also inherit.

If children under 18 are set to receive part of the estate, then any rearrangement of the estate requires court approval. If there are disagreements, lawyers will be required on both sides, which only adds to the cost and stress for everyone involved.

All of this can be avoided by writing a will online for just £100.

Writing a will allows unmarried, common law and cohabiting partners to ensure that the surviving partner is provided for in the event of their death. This includes things like:

• Leaving your estate to your partner so that they’re financially secure – your estate can include things like property, bank accounts, savings and pensions

• Naming your partner as the legal guardian of your children if they don’t already have parental responsibility

• Writing funeral wishes so that your partner knows what you would have wanted, or letting them know about your funeral plan

• Leaving specific gifts or messages to your partner that could help them to grieve when you’re gone

Farewill is the UK's most trusted will writer. Our award-winning will writing service allows you and your partner to write your wills online in as little as 15 minutes, or to write your with a specialist over the phone.

If you're not sure what you need, book a free consultation with one of our will specialists. They'll talk through your situation and explain how we can help.

• If the house you live in is solely owned by your partner, you would have no legal right to inherit it or continue living there in the event of their death.

• By making a will, your partner can leave their house and financial assets to you as part of their residuary estate – and vice versa.

• A will also allows you to appoint each other as legal guardians if you have children from previous relationships.

• You can write your will online with Farewill in as little as 15 minutes, potentially saving each other from a huge amount of financial and emotional strain.