Whilst in the UK there are 12.5 million married couple families, cohabiting couple families are the fastest growing type of family, according to the Office of National Statistics, accounting for 16.4% of all families.

In UK law, there is no such thing as common law marriage and whilst many people think that unmarried couples who live together for some time probably have a ‘common law marriage’ which gives them the same legal rights as married couples, this is not legally the case.

The Money Advice Service states, “Fewer people are getting married today than at any time in the last 100 years. But sadly, the law hasn’t quite caught up with that fact. The reality is that if you die without a will, your unmarried partner is not automatically legally entitled to anything”.

Sadly, for unmarried couples the cohabitation rights bill which addresses the rights of cohabiting couples is still in the early stages of passing through parliament.

Have you written a will?

A will is especially important for those who are not married or in a registered civil partnership – if the law doesn't really recognise unmarried couples, you can’t expect anything to go to your partner if you don't make a will.

Research published from the Dying Matters Coalition earlier this year revealed that only 35 per cent of British adults say they have written a will.

Those of us who die without a will are said to die “intestate”. This can result in complications for those left behind. If you die intestate, the State will control who inherits, so again the people you cohabit with may get nothing.

In the worst case, that could mean your partner is unable to stay at home or they don’t have enough money to bring up your children.

Law Society president Nicholas Fluck reacted to the findings:

“It is extremely concerning that a significant number of people have not written a will and made their final wishes clear. It is understandable that most of us are uncomfortable discussing our dying wishes, especially younger people, but you have nothing to lose and your loved ones can have everything to gain if you ensure your affairs are in order”.

Whatever your age, if you own a house, have savings or others you’d like to look after, you should consider making a will.

Claire Henry, Chief Executive of the Dying Matters Coalition said: “We need to change the nation’s approach to dying, so that all of us become better at making our end of life wishes known and asking our loved ones about theirs. Talking about dying and planning ahead may not be easy, but it can help us to make the most of life and spare our loved ones from making difficult decisions on our behalf or dealing with the fallout if we haven’t got our affairs in order.”

Leave more for your loved ones by writing your life insurance into Trust.

Another way you can plan to protect the future of your loved ones is by putting your life insurance into Trust. If not, the money you leave to your loved ones from a life insurance policy may be exposed to inheritance tax as it is included as part of your estate. By placing your life insurance policy into a Trust, you can help make sure that your beneficiaries avoid inheritance tax so they can receive the money you intended to leave them.

Not everyone needs life insurance. But if your children, partner or any other people depend on your income to cover the mortgage or other living expenses, you should probably consider life insurance, since it will help provide for your family in the event of your death.

Life insurance can be very good value. It often costs just a few pence a day and that’s all you need to provide your loved ones with plenty of financial protection (depending on your age and health status).

But monthly payments vary, so why not talk to us? We can help you to get the right policy for your needs at the right price.

Taking out life insurance within a Trust makes the policy exempt from Inheritance Tax when you die as it places it outside of your estate and yet very few policyholders use Trusts.

If you write in Trust the insurance pays out directly to your dependants, so it never becomes part of your estate, which can avoid inheritance tax and speed up the payout.

Setting up a Trust is quick and easy and we can put your policy in Trust for no charge.

For no obligation, no nonsense, professional advice, please contact one of our advisors on 0800 612 8005.

We’ll be happy to look after you and so you can look after the people you care about.