Neil Russell, Partner and Head of Family, spoke with Henry Riley on LBC about the rise in cohabiting couples and evolving marriage trends in the UK. The discussion explored the persistent “common law marriage” myth, the potential for legal reform, and the steps unmarried couples can take to protect their financial position.
When asked whether lawmakers should respond to the growing number of cohabiting couples, Neil said:
“Parliament has a responsibility to look out for us to the extent that it should, and what it’s recognising is that there is an [increase] in cohabitees. They’re knocking at the door for reform to accommodate cohabitees but… what [is not clear] is, how are people going to register? It’s hard to define what cohabitation is…We’re going to [need] a definition of what cohabitation means. We’re going to need a date from which [that definition] begins.”
Listen to the full clip here.