Wills for Unmarried Couples

The intestacy rules that apply when someone dies without a valid will set out a fixed order of relatives who inherit: spouse or civil partner, then children, then parents, then siblings, and so on. An unmarried partner does not appear anywhere in that list, no matter how long the relationship or whether you have children together.

In practice this means that if one partner dies without a will, their surviving partner could be left with no automatic right to the home they shared or to any of the deceased's savings, while the estate passes instead to parents, siblings or other relatives.

If you own your home together as joint tenants, the property automatically passes to the surviving joint owner on death by the right of survivorship, regardless of what either person's will says. This is often what unmarried couples want, but it is worth checking that this is genuinely how the property is held, since some co-owners hold as tenants in common instead.

If you own as tenants in common, each of you owns a defined share of the property, which does not pass automatically to the other and instead forms part of your estate to be dealt with under your will (or the intestacy rules if there is no will). It is possible to sever a joint tenancy and convert it into a tenancy in common, which some couples do deliberately, for example to leave a share to children from a previous relationship while still allowing the survivor to remain living there, often alongside a declaration of trust setting out the shares and any rights of occupation.

A will lets you leave specific gifts, a share of your estate, or your entire estate to your partner, exactly as you would for a spouse. It also lets you appoint your partner as an executor, which they would not automatically be entitled to be under intestacy.

If you have children, particularly from a previous relationship, a will also lets you balance provision for your partner with what you want your children to eventually receive, for example through a trust structure, rather than leaving that balance to chance.

A cohabiting partner who was living with the deceased for at least two years before death, or who was financially dependent on them, may in principle be able to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 if they are left without reasonable financial provision. This is a genuine legal route, but it involves court proceedings, cost, delay and uncertainty, and there is no guarantee of the outcome.

It should never be relied on as an alternative to making a will. Where you think a claim of this kind could realistically arise, for example a complicated family situation or a dependant with additional needs, take specialist advice.

Make mirror or individual wills that clearly provide for each other, check exactly how your home is owned and whether that matches your wishes, and consider a declaration of trust if you have contributed unequally to the property or want to record an agreement about it.

Review your wills again if your relationship status changes, for example if you later marry, since marriage generally revokes an earlier will.