In the second of a series of articles, David Burrows explores the complex law which confronts cohabiting couples who separate
- Can the courts adjust property holding between unmarried couples where title documents define shares?
- Can a court give an unmarried partner a share in a property held by the other partner?
- How does equity adjust shares in property occupied by a cohabiting couple?
In ‘Cohabitation in 2017 (Pt 1)’ ( NLJ 3 March 2017, p 11) the discriminatory aspects of cohabitation law in relation to capital adjustment were outlined; but it was pointed out that it relation to children, child maintenance and domestic violence the law was the same for the married and the unmarried. This article (Pt 2) moves on to look at rights which may be acquired in equity by those living together but unmarried. Pt 3 will look at procedural questions and as to how the parties’ capital position is affected if there are children.
Two set of circumstances call for explanation here: first, an unmarried (or not-civil-partnership) couple—hetero-sexual
