Cohabitation in the United Kingdom

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Cohabitation in the United Kingdom, according to social security law would typically relate to a couple being treated as living together as a married couple even if not married or in a civil partnership. [1] This has the effect that for means-tested benefits their resources are treated as held in common. There are also effects on benefits which depend on the claimant not having a partner.

Contents

History

The Victorian era of the late 19th century is famous for the Victorian standards of personal morality. Historians generally agree that the middle classes held high personal moral standards and rejected cohabitation. They have debated whether the working classes followed suit. Moralists in the late 19th century such as Henry Mayhew decried high levels of cohabitation without marriage and illegitimate births in London slums. However new research using computerized matching of data files shows that the rates of cohabitation were quite low—under 5% – for the working class and the urban poor. [2]

Statistics

There are 3.5 million cohabiting couples in England and Wales as of 2020, up 137% from 1.5 million in 1996. [3]

In modern day Britain, nearly half of babies are born to people who are not married (in the United Kingdom 47.3% in 2011; [4] in Scotland in 2012 the proportion was 51.3% [5] ). It is estimated that by 2016, the majority of births in the UK will be to unmarried parents. [6]

There are differences in extramarital births by region; in 2012, the highest percentage of births to unmarried women were in North East of England at 59%, and in Wales at 58%; and the lowest in London (36%) and in Northern Ireland (42%). [7] One of the reasons cited for the lower percentage of extramarital births in London is the high number of immigrants from conservative world regions who reside in the city. [8] Younger mothers are more likely to be unmarried: in 2011, 96% of mothers aged under 20 were unmarried, compared to only 31% of mothers in their 30s. [9] A study dealing with births that occurred in the year 2000 found several social and personal characteristics of cohabiting vs. married parents: married mothers are most likely to be Asian and least likely Black Caribbean; married mothers are more religious; married mothers and fathers are more educated (they are more than twice as likely to have a degree than cohabiting parents); married fathers are twice as likely to have a professional occupation as cohabiting fathers; married parents have a better financial situation; married mothers are older and are more likely to have had the birth planned. [10] A 2006 study found that cohabiting couples, with and without children, are the fastest-growing family type in the UK. [11] Cohabiting couples who live with their children are more common in the North of England than in the South. [12]

In response to the increase in cohabitation, several legal changes were made in the UK in recent years. In Scotland, the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 provides cohabitants with some limited rights. [13] In addition, since 2003 in England and Wales, 2002 in Northern Ireland, and 2006 in Scotland, an unmarried father has parental responsibility if he is listed on the birth certificate. [14]

In the UK, in recent years, the falling marriage rates and increased births outside marriage have become a political issue, with questions of whether the government should promote marriage (i.e. through tax benefits or public campaigns) or whether it should focus on the status of a parent, rather than that of a spouse; with the former view being endorsed by the Conservative Party, and the latter by the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats. [15] There are also differences between England and Wales and Scotland, with the latter being more accepting of cohabitation. [16] [17]

While 49% of cohabiting couples that aren't married or in a civil partnership believe they have rights under a 'common law marriage', [18] common law marriage has no legal standing in England and Wales. [19] Cohabiting couples aren't automatic beneficiaries or have protections regarding non-joint bank accounts, mortgages, tenancies or pensions, unless the other person is explicitly mentioned as a joint account holder or in the terms as a beneficiary, for example in the event of death. [20]

Social security law

Living together has been part of the law since the beginning of the modern welfare state in 1948. The term "Living together as husband and wife" was introduced from 4 April 1977 to mean the same as "cohabiting with a man as his wife" which was used before that date. [21] The term is now "living together as a married couple". [1]

To be regarded as "living together as a married couple" or cohabitating, there are various questions to consider. The question of cohabitation should take into consideration all the six questions, and looking at the relationship as a whole.

QuestionConsideration
Do the couple live in the same household?Couple must live at the same address, eat together and share domestic jobs (such as washing). It is possible for two people to live in the same building and not share the same household (such as a marriage break up where two partners lead separate lives at the same address), thus they should be able to claim benefit separately. If one partner has a home elsewhere where they pay bills, they aren't deemed living with the claimant. [22]
Is this a stable relationship?A casual affair is not the same as a marriage.
What happens to the money?If a couple share money this may be evidence that the relationship is like a husband and wife.
Is there sex?Sex is an important part of living together as a married couple, though disclosure is voluntary. Even if a couple consider their relationship like a marriage, if they do not have sex they should not be treated as living together as a married couple.
Are there children?If a couple have children together then it is hard to argue that they are not living together as a married couple, unless it can be shown that the relationship has changed since they had the children.
What do other people think?If people go out together in public as a couple, that is evidence that they are a couple. Not doing these things does not necessarily show they are not a couple. [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increasingly common in Western countries since the late 20th century, being led by changing social views, especially regarding marriage, gender roles and religion.

Divorce is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the bonds of matrimony between a married couple under the rule of law of the particular country or state. It can be said to be a legal dissolution of a marriage by a court or other competent body. It is the legal process of ending a marriage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civil union</span> Legal union similar to marriage

A civil union is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage.

Common-law marriage, also known as non-ceremonial marriage, sui iuris marriage, informal marriage, de facto marriage, or marriage by habit and repute, is a legal marriage despite non-compliance with the requirements for a statutory marriage, at least in the jurisdictions where marriage can still be contracted this way.

A domestic partnership is an intimate relationship between people, usually couples, who live together and share a common domestic life but who are not married. People in domestic partnerships receive legal benefits that guarantee right of survivorship, hospital visitation, and other rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premarital sex</span> Sexual activity before marriage

Premarital sex is sexual activity which is practiced by people before they are married. Premarital sex is considered a sin by a number of religions and also considered a moral issue which is taboo in many cultures. Since the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s, it has become accepted by certain liberal movements, especially in Western countries. A 2014 Pew study on global morality found that premarital sex was considered particularly unacceptable in "Muslim Majority Countries", such as Malaysia, Jordan and Pakistan, each having over 90% disapproval, while people in Western European countries were the most accepting, with Spain, Germany, and France expressing less than 10% disapproval.

Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, illegitimacy, also known as bastardy, has been the status of a child born outside marriage, such a child being known as a bastard, a love child, a natural child, or illegitimate. In Scots law, the terms natural son and natural daughter carry the same implications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forced marriage</span> Being married without consenting

Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later forced to stay in the marriage against their will.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marriage in England and Wales</span> United Kingdom legislation

Marriage is available in England and Wales to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples and is legally recognised in the forms of both civil and religious marriage. Marriage laws have historically evolved separately from marriage laws in other jurisdictions in the United Kingdom. There is a distinction between religious marriages, conducted by an authorised religious celebrant, and civil marriages, conducted by a state registrar. The legal minimum age to enter into a marriage in England and Wales is 18 since 27 February 2023. Previously the minimum age of marriage was 16, with parental permission. This also applies to civil partnerships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marriage law</span> Overview of marriage law worldwide

Marriage law is the legal requirements, an aspect of family law, that determine the validity of a marriage, and which vary considerably among countries.

Co-parenting is an enterprise undertaken by parents who together take on the socialization, care, and upbringing of children for whom they share equal responsibility. The co-parent relationship differs from an intimate relationship between adults in that it focuses solely on the child. The equivalent term in evolutionary biology is bi-parental care, where parental investment is provided by both the mother and father.

Common-law relationships in Manitoba are government-sanctioned relationships available to both same-sex and different-sex unmarried couples in the Canadian province of Manitoba. While not as extensive as the rights and benefits of marriage, these relationships provide some important benefits to unmarried couples. Registration is voluntary; many of the laws apply automatically to any couple in the province after living together for several years.

Teenage pregnancy in the United Kingdom refers to the rate at which people under 20 fall pregnant in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the rate of teenage conceptions in the United Kingdom was 5.226% percent of total conceptions, whereas 2.199% of all live births in the United Kingdom were to mothers under 20 years of age. The rate of teenage pregnancy is relatively high when compared with other developed countries; the only other Western countries with higher teenage pregnancy rates are the United States and New Zealand. A report in 2002 found that around half of all conceptions to under-18s were concentrated among the 30% most economically deprived population, with only 14% occurring among the 30% least deprived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marriage in Scotland</span> United Kingdom legislation

Marriage in Scotland is recognised in the form of both civil and religious unions between individuals. Historically, the law of marriage has developed differently in Scotland to other jurisdictions in the United Kingdom as a consequence of the differences in Scots law and role of the separate established Church of Scotland. These differences led to a tradition of couples from England and Wales eloping to Scotland, most famously to marry at border towns such as Gretna Green. The legal minimum age to enter into a marriage in Scotland is sixteen years and does not require parental consent at any age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Scotland</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Scotland are generally in line with the rest of the United Kingdom, which have evolved extensively over time and are now regarded as some of the most progressive in Europe. In both 2015 and 2016, Scotland was recognised as the "best country in Europe for LGBTI legal equality".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scots family law</span>

Scots family law is the body of laws in Scotland which regulate certain aspects of adult relationships and the rights and obligations in respect of children.

Cohabitation in the United States is loosely defined as two or more people, in an intimate relationship, who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family in the United States</span> Overview of American family models

In the United States, the traditional family structure is considered a family support system involving two married individuals providing care and stability for their biological offspring. However, this two-parent, heterosexual, nuclear family has become less prevalent, and nontraditional family forms have become more common. The family is created at birth and establishes ties across generations. Those generations, the extended family of aunts and uncles, grandparents, and cousins, can hold significant emotional and economic roles for the nuclear family.

The topic of same-sex unions and military service concerns the government treatment or recognition of same-sex unions who may consist of at least one servicemember of a nation's military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fornication</span> Name for pre-marital sexual intercourse

Fornication is generally consensual sexual intercourse between two people not married to each other. When one or more of the partners having consensual sexual intercourse is married to another person, it is called adultery. John Calvin viewed adultery to be any sexual act that is outside the divine model for sexual intercourse, which includes fornication.

References

  1. 1 2 "Chapter 11 - Living together as a married couple" (PDF). UK Government. October 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  2. ↑ Rebecca Probert, "Living in Sin," BBC History Magazine (Sept 2012); G. Frost, Living in Sin: Cohabiting as Husband and Wife in Nineteenth-Century England (Manchester U.P. 2008)
  3. ↑ ""Common law marriage" and cohabitation" (PDF). Parliament.UK.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ↑ "Most babies born out of marriage by 2016, trend suggests". BBC News. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  7. ↑ "Royal baby: An average baby?". BBC News. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "Tony Travers: Thanks to immigrants we're the capital for marriage". Evening Standard. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  9. ↑ "Live Births in England and Wales by Characteristics of Mother 1, 2011 - ONS" . Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  10. ↑ http://www.ifs.org.uk/comms/comm114.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  11. ↑ "UK - Cohabiting families 'increasing'". BBC News. 4 October 2007. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  12. ↑ "BBC - Relationships - TV and radio - Yorkshire" . Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "Family Matters - Couples - Cohabitation" . Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  14. ↑ "Parental rights and responsibilities" . Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  15. ↑ "Marriage and cohabitation: key issues for the 2010 Parliament". UK Parliament. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "Family Matters - Couples - Cohabitation". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  17. ↑ "Family Law Week: Lessons to be learned for cohabitation cases in England, says Lady Hale in Supreme Court Scottish case". Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  18. ↑ "British Social Attitudes 36" (PDF). NatCen Social Research.
  19. ↑ "Common law marriage". Family Lives.
  20. ↑ "Cohabitation – your rights". www.lawsociety.org.uk. The Law Society. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  21. ↑ "Chapter 11 - Living together as husband and wife or as civil partners". Decision Maker's Guide. Department for Work & Pensions. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  22. ↑ "If a benefits office believe you are living together..." Advice Now. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  23. ↑ Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook. Child Poverty Action Group. 2013. ISBN   978-1-906076-73-3.
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