Talk of unmarried couples getting the same rights as married couples has been rumbling on for some years now – and it is still far from clear what will happen.

A Private Members’ Bill is being presented to Parliament with the backing of Resolution – a network of family lawyers committed to the constructive resolution of family disputes – that could end the current inequality on rights for married couples and those who choose to simply cohabit. Conversely, there is a Conservative plan that would mean unmarried couples are denied the rights married couples receive.

Currently, unmarried couples who live together have hardly any legal rights automatically. If they split, an ex doesn’t have to pay maintenance, even if a former partner has given up work to look after children or the home (although they will still have to pay child support for their children). If a rented home is in the name of only one partner, the other will have no right to stay, and if an ex owns a property and there is no agreement in place, a person has no right to stay if an ex asks them to leave.

“The Private Members Bill would protect the vulnerable without equating living together to marriage or civil partnership in every way. For example, the Bill would apply only to people living in the same household for a minimum period of time in which the parties have provided a financial or other commitment to each other,” said Sue Harwood, a Resolution-approved lawyer, of family law specialist Woolley & Co.

“Unfortunately I still come across unmarried couples who believe in the myth of common law husbands and wives. There’s no such thing, and what that means is that couples who have been together for years often assume they have rights, in relation to their home and finances which simply aren’t there in law.”

A living together agreement can be drawn up for unmarried couples to help decide what happens on the event of a break-up. Such an arrangement should be recommended to any client perhaps coming out of a marriage but going into another relationship, and also publicised more widely to promote greater public awareness.

There’s more information for unmarried couples on the Woolley & Co website, including a longer explanation of the political parties different views on unmarried couples here.

For more information and advice on the subject of unmarried couples rights and living together agreements, contact Woolley & Co family law specialists on 0800 3213832.

For many people going through a difficult time in their life or needing advice and not knowing where to turn, the local Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) is a first port of call. Its trained advisors can help on many issues and then refer customers to other agencies if they need a specific service.

Sara Cole first joined Stratford-upon-Avon CAB as a volunteer advisor 11 years ago after deciding she needed a new part-time challenge while looking after a young family. Four years later she moved into a full-time post, utilising the managerial skills she had developed while working at a manufacturing firm in Manchester several years earlier to oversee the smooth running of the service. She is also responsible for the recruitment and training of volunteers and the quality of the service delivered to clients.

“I think it is important for people working here to have a real interest in people’s lives and helping them,” said Sara, deputy manager of the Stratford CAB.

“Enquiries range from tax credits, welfare benefits and debt advice, to housing issues and family problems. We can give detailed information and advice on many subjects and if necessary point a person in the direction of solicitors or whatever further help they might need.

“We are all fully trained – our volunteers undergo about a year of training and are qualified to a very high standard to ensure the service we are offering is up to scratch.

“Working with other agencies we are able to help a large number of people with a wide range of problems.”

Sara can be reached at the Stratford-upon-Avon CAB on 01789 295399. Most towns and cities in the UK have their own CAB which can be located online via the Citizens Advice Bureau website.

Divorce man “wants kidney back”

A US man divorcing his wife is demanding that she return the kidney he donated to her or pay him £1 million in compensation.

Dr Richard Batista said he was frustrated at the slow pace of divorce negotiations with his estranged wife and so decided to go public with his claim. He said he had not only given his heart to his wife, Dawnell, but donated his kidney to save her life.

But divorce lawyers say a donated organ is not a marital asset to be divided.

Dr Batista married Dawnell in 1990 and donated the kidney to her in 2001. She filed for divorce in 2005 and a settlement has still not been reached.

Luckily at Woolley & Co we have never had to handle a case quite as extreme as this. It’s not uncommon however for financial settlements to be held up by parties who simply won’t agree and seem to have lost all sense of perspective on things. Divorce and separation are emotional times, it’s our job to try and keep the emotions in check and help clients reach agreements swiftly, based on all the facts.

Read more on this story here.

Divorce lawyers have busiest week

The “double whammy” of Christmas and the credit crunch made the first week of January one of the busiest ever for divorce lawyers, experts have said.

One in four people say their relationship is under strain because of money problems, according to a new survey. Eleven per cent of those polled say they are being forced to stay in a failing relationship because the financial crisis means they cannot afford to leave.

Researchers for online advice centre InsideDivorce.com found almost two million couples in Britain were suffering marital difficulties and 1.3 million people were considering splitting up.

The traditional New Year rush to end marriages after the stress of Christmas has led to some divorce lawyers branding January 5 D-Day, or Divorce Day, kick-starting their busiest week of the year, as predicted by Woolley & Co last month.

Read more on this story here.

Children come first in divorce, experts say

Parents going through a divorce have been advised to put their children first as part of an awareness campaign for National Divorce Day.

ChildLine and NSPCC parenting portal Your Family is aiming to help parents guide their kids through a family break-up with as little impact as possible.

Sue Minto, head of ChildLine, said: "Children can be helped to adjust to the changes happening around them if parents take the time to explain how much they are loved and that whatever happens is not their fault.”

Post-nups may offer couples more peace of mind than pre-nups

After a recent landmark millionaire divorce case judgment, couples in UK could soon be making more "post-nuptial" agreements about how to divide their wealth instead of prenuptial ones.

Senior judges have ruled that deals drawn up during the course of a marriage can be legally binding.

The Macleod case involved an adulterous wife who was trying to claim £5.6 million in a divorce settlement with her businessman husband. But during the course of the judgment, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council came close to declaring that post-nups should have the full force of the law behind them, although they seem to have accepted that pre-nups are an issue for the Government to decide upon.

According to legal experts, the ruling will see many couples deciding how to settle their financial affairs after getting married through a post-nup, as it appears to be fairer than working it out before the wedding in a pre-nup.

Family law experts from Woolley & Co have been in demand over the last month in the wake of our story about staying calm over Christmas.

Radio stations including BBC Wiltshire, BBC Northamptonshire, Touch FM, BBC Derby, Rugby FM, Mercia FM and Two Counties Radio have called on our lawyers to give expert opinion on how to beat festive flashpoints and discuss the surge in divorce enquiries in January. Several newspapers have also covered the story.

If you are looking for comment on the January surge in divorce numbers for your client newsletter or website contact Woolley & Co – we’d be happy to help.