Legal focus: Unmarried couples and wills

According to a recent survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics, there are more than three million cohabiting couple families in the UK, accounting for 16.4 per cent of all families in the UK.

This demographic has increased by almost 30 per cent in a decade and is the fastest growing type of family in the UK.

With a little over 40 per cent of adults in the UK having a will, many people are unaware that surviving partners are at serious risk of not receiving anything if their partner dies. If a couple is not married and one dies, the surviving partner will not receive any part of an estate unless assets are held in joint names.

One of the more commonly seen examples is in relation to the family home. Many people would expect that the home would be passed to them upon the death of their partner but sadly this is not necessarily the case.

The estate is usually passed to the deceased’s children in this instance and, if the couple have no children, it can be passed to parents, siblings and extended family members, even those who you may not necessarily wish to receive any part of the estate.

Making a will is the only way of ensuring a partner receives part or even all of the assets.

A will is a lot easier to prepare than many people would imagine and ensures that your final wishes are upheld.