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Picture the scene: you are at a party and find yourself drawn into a round of introductions. You've been living with Paul for five years. How do you introduce yourselves? Are you partners, lovers, cohabitees?
Titles aside, women cannot afford, financially or emotionally, to ignore the importance of financial planning in a long-term relationship, whether or not marriage is the ultimate goal.
Take the much-publicised case of Anna Homsi, who was initially refused a war widow's pension when her long-term partner and father of her daughter was tragically killed in a military operation. Anna was refused a war widow's pension on the grounds that they were not married. The crux of the matter is that public sector pension schemes do not usually recognise unmarried partners, and most pension companies will not pay out in the event of separation or death, unless your partner has nominated you in their private or company pension. Although MPs are now supporting a bill that would finally give due legal recognition to live-in relationships, at the moment the absence of a wedding band may prevent you from finding financial solace.
What if your partner dies in an accident? A morbid scenario, but once again a wife is in a much better financial position than an unmarried partner. If death is caused through someone else's negligence, you can claim for financial and emotional loss. If unmarried, however, you can only claim financial damages, and even then you must have lived with the deceased for at least two years. Your emotional loss is not recognised.
When it comes to property, the position for unmarried couples is deceptively straightforward. Courts do not look beyond financial or physical contributions. If you move into your partner's house and don't insist on the house being transferred into both names, you may find yourself entitled to less than a half-share in the legal ownership. In addition, you will have to prove that you contributed to mortgage repayments or increased the house's value, for example, by modernisation.
So is a marriage contract the ultimate safety net, or can live-in couples ensure their financial security and emotional welfare by having a Cohabitation Contract drawn up?
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