Surviving co-habitee on Intestacy

A surviving cohabiting person has a right to make a claim against the estate of a person with whom they had lived and who dies without making a will.

The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 permits such a claim where the claimant had lived with the deceased for five years (or two years where they had a dependent child).

The claim is to ask a court to make ‘proper provision’ from the estate. It is not clear what this amounts to but it cannot exceed what a spouse or civil partner would expect to receive.

In cases where co-habitees are in a relationship akin to marriage, the applicant might reasonably expect to get similar relief to that which a spouse might get.