A fairer end to relationships, in plain English

In June 2026 the Ministry of Justice published A fairer end to relationships, a consultation on what should happen to money and property when relationships end. It closed on 14 August 2026, and the government has not yet responded (GOV.UK).

This post describes proposals. None of them is law. If you live together today, your legal position has not changed (GOV.UK). Our page Cohabitation law reform sets out what is true now.

Three things the consultation covered

The consultation had three parts (consultation document):

1. Divorce and dissolution. It proposed setting the main principles courts already use, "sharing" and "needs", into law, and making some pre- and post-nuptial agreements binding, with safeguards.
2. Couples who live together and separate. A new set of rights for eligible cohabitants, narrower than on divorce.
3. Couples who live together when one partner dies. Inheritance rights if a partner dies without a will.

The rest of this post is about parts 2 and 3.

Who would be covered

As proposed, the new rules would apply to adults in long-term, committed and interdependent relationships who have lived together for at least three years, or who live together and share a child (consultation document, Part 2). The consultation asked whether three years is the right period and whether having a child should remove the minimum.

So, as proposed, a couple without children who have lived together for less than three years would not be covered. Nor would a couple who opted out.

What a court could do

The proposal is deliberately narrower than divorce (consultation document, Part 2):

• The starting point: each person keeps what they legally own.
• When a court would step in: only to meet a person's defined needs, assessed more narrowly than on divorce.
• Children first: a child's welfare would be the court's first consideration.
• A clean break: ending financial ties would be the aim wherever possible. Ongoing payments to a former partner would be limited to exceptional, time-bound cases, such as long-term ill health.
• A time limit: a claim would need to be made within two years of separating.

This is a needs-based approach. A separate bill in the House of Lords takes a different, compensation-based approach, and the government has said it prefers needs because they better protect children and people whose needs do not come from the relationship, such as serious illness (UK Parliament; see The Cohabitation Rights Bill).

The consultation also asked whether courts should give more weight to domestic abuse, including coercive control and economic abuse, when deciding finances (consultation document).

The opt-out

The rules would apply by default. A couple could opt out only if both agree, and only with safeguards: a valid contract made by deed, a signed statement that both understand it, disclosure of each person's finances, and independent legal advice for each of you. Neither person could waive the advice or the disclosure. An opt-out could not prevent a claim made for a child (consultation document, Part 2).

An agreement you have already written, on paper or in an app, would not become an opt-out by itself under these proposals. How existing agreements would be treated has not been decided.

If a partner dies without a will

Today, a cohabiting partner has no automatic right to inherit when the other dies without a will (consultation document, Part 3). The government proposed changing that for qualifying cohabitants, subject to a clear definition and a minimum period living together. It also asked whether to remove the current two-year qualifying period for claims against a partner's estate where the couple had children together (Part 3; Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, section 1).

What has not changed

Until Parliament passes a new law and it comes into force, the current rules apply (GOV.UK):

• living together does not create a "common law marriage";
• there is no general right to share property or income on separation;
• there is no automatic inheritance without a will.

What you can do now

The practical steps do not depend on reform: know how you own your home, make wills, and talk about money while things are calm. Where it matters legally, take advice. What you can do now lists them, with sources.

This post explains proposals in general terms. It is not legal advice.

Free to read: The Bearing, The Atlas and The Routes.