The legal gap most couples do not know about
Many people believe that after a few years together, the law treats them as married. In England and Wales it does not. If your partner dies without a will, the intestacy rules send their estate to blood relatives, and you may have to go to court to claim anything.
Unmarried partners also miss out on the inheritance tax exemption between spouses. Money left to you could face tax that a married partner would not pay. None of this means you need to marry, but it does mean you need to plan.
The rules in Scotland are a little different, and cohabiting partners there have some limited rights to apply to court. Even so, relying on a court claim at a time of grief is slow, uncertain and costly. A clear plan made now spares your partner that process.
Your home and how you own it
Check the deeds. As joint tenants, the home passes to the survivor automatically. As tenants in common, each share passes under the owner's will, or under intestacy if there is no will. If only one of you is on the title, the other may have no claim to the home at all.
Life cover can clear the mortgage, but the survivor still needs a legal right to stay. Your will and the way you own the property have to work together with the policy.
Joint policy, single policies and trusts
A joint life policy pays once, to the survivor, on the first death. Two single policies pay twice if you both die, and can each be written in trust for the other partner, children or anyone else you choose.
A trust matters more for unmarried couples than for married ones. Without it, your payout falls into your estate, could wait for probate and might go to someone you did not intend. With it, trustees can pay your partner directly.
Choose your trustees with care. Your partner can be a trustee alongside someone else you trust, such as a sibling or close friend. Two trustees make it easier to act quickly if one is unavailable.
If you have children together
Your children can inherit from both of you under intestacy, but your partner may not. That can leave the surviving parent managing money held for the children while short of money for the household. A policy in trust can provide for both.
Check workplace pension and death-in-service forms too. Many people never update the nominated person after moving in together.
If you have children from earlier relationships as well, the picture gets more involved. Separate trusts for each group of children can keep things fair and clear.
How Hi Tomorrow helps couples who live together
We talk through how your home is owned, whether you have wills and who depends on whom. Then we recommend cover from our panel that pays the right person, and complete the trust forms with you so the money goes where you mean it to.
We will point you towards a solicitor for wills and property questions, since those sit outside insurance.
We also check what your pensions and any workplace death-in-service schemes would pay, and remind you to update the nomination forms so your partner is named.