Common myths about unmarried people living without a will

If you live with your partner, you can inherit your property Desire Go to them automatically if you die. But think again.

Under intestacy laws, cohabitants have no inheritance rights – and trouble looms inheritance tax ,iht) Change can leave grief Family With an even bigger bill.

A survey by the national will-writing campaign Will Aid found that the majority of cohabiting couples are unaware of inheritance rules, putting many at risk of completely disinheriting their partner’s property.

A will is a legal document that specifies how a person’s property, money, and assets should be distributed after his or her death.

If you die without a valid will, this is called “dying intestate.” When this happens, your assets will be distributed according to the “rules of the will.”

What are the rules of intestacy?

The Will Aid survey found that 68 percent of cohabitants do not understand the rules of intestacy. Under these rules, unmarried partners – even those who have lived as a couple for years or who have children together – are not automatically entitled to inherit.

The survey found that 25 per cent of cohabitants mistakenly assumed that their partner’s assets would automatically pass to them when they died – and 17 per cent admitted they had never even thought about it.

Trusha Velzy, solicitor at Touch Solicitors, warns: “Many people believe that after living together for a period of time, they automatically become common law husband and wife, but this is not the case.

“The concept of ‘common law marriage’ ended long ago.”

Who will get the inheritance?

If you die without a will, and are not married or in a civil partnership, any children you have will inherit everything.

If you are unmarried and childless, your property generally passes to your parents or siblings. If he passes away, it will go to your siblings’ children.

These rules mean that unmarried or cohabiting partners must make a will if they want their partner to inherit from them.

“If you are living together as a couple, the law does not recognize you as spouses, even if you have children together and have been living together for many years,” says Velji, “So, if you do not have a will, the rules of intestacy will apply and your partner will be completely disregarded.”

What is the IHT spouse exemption?

People who live together should also consider their tax situation when planning for the future. Leaving assets to an unmarried partner in your Will does not mean they will benefit from the same IHT exemptions that married couples enjoy.

The IHT range (also known as the nil-rate band) is The amount of an asset you can transfer Before IHT is charged. The standard IHT limit is £325,000 per person (for the 2025/26 tax year). Assets above this amount are taxed at 40 percent on the portion in excess of the limit.

Assets left to a spouse or civil partner are usually exempt from IHT, and any unused part of their limit can be transferred to the surviving partner, effectively doubling the limit for a couple to £650,000.

If the family home is left to direct descendants (such as children or grandchildren), there is an additional limit of up to £175,000 per person, bringing the potential total to £500,000 per person (£1 million per couple).

But unlike married couples or civil partners, cohabitants do not benefit from the IHT spousal exemption. This means that any inheritance left to them may be subject to IHT if the estate exceeds the tax-free limit.

New pension IHT rules

The financial risks of autumn cohabitation are set to increase from April 2027 BudgetChancellor Rachel Reeves announced that pensions and IHT rules will change from this date.

Currently, defined contribution pensions, where you build up a reserve of money to provide an income when you retire, generally do not form part of your estate and therefore are not subject to IHT. But from April 2027, pension savings will count towards a person’s estate for IHT purposes.

Calculations from wealth manager Quilter show that if a legally working-age single homeowner with an average-priced home in England (£290,395) and a pension fund of £415,000 dies, their beneficiaries will have to pay £82,158 in IHT from 2027. Under current rules, they won’t pay anything.

Many cohabiting couples own property jointly as joint tenants. In this situation, only half the value of the property will be counted as property. Nevertheless, the family in the above example would face an IHT bill of £24,079.

John Greer, head of superannuation policy at Quilter, said: “Imposing inheritance tax on a pension that no one can access is viscerally terrible for the government. It is even more unjust for cohabiting families who have no relief or transferable allowances for spouses. Policy makers should also consider reductions or transitional relief for working-age deaths, particularly when young children are involved. Should do. Without change, this policy risks increasing the emotional toll of bereavement. A financial shock.”

how to write a will

You can write a will through a lawyer or an online will-writing service.

Alternatively, Will Aid is an annual fundraising campaign where participating lawyers offer to write a basic will in exchange for a voluntary donation to one of the campaign’s eight partner charities, which include Age UK, NSPCC, Shelter and Crisis.

Peter de Vena Franks, director of the Will Aid campaign, said: “This is a chance for unmarried and cohabiting couples to make sure their wishes are clearly documented. Without a will, surviving partners are left unprotected. Will Aid gives peace of mind that their loved ones are protected.”

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