Cohabitation
Without an Agreement
Is a widow in danger of losing her dependant’s allowance from the National Insurance if she just cohabits , rather than marries ?
Cohabitation •Without an AgreementNot anymore ! In 2007 the Labour Appeal Court held that a widow who becomes a cohabite loses her right to a dependant’s allowance from the National Insurance Institute. It was held that a widow who cohabits is in the same position as if she had remarried. Previously, a widow only lost this right upon remarriage, not upon cohabitation.
My boyfriend is in jail. I would like to get permission to stay overnight with him in a special area designed for husbands and wives, so that we can have intimate relations . If I tell the prison authorities that we are common law spouses could this be to my detriment later , as I own my apartment ?
Cohabitation •Without an AgreementQuite possibly – it could boomerang, being advantageous in the short term, allowing the couple to gain privacy in prison , but could prove detrimental in the long run by helping him to prove he is entitled to rights in his girlfriend’s property by virtue of his status as a cohabitee !
Is a woman entitled to half the property acquired by a man who started out as a lodger in her apartment – but then turned into her live-in lover for several years ?
Cohabitation •Without an AgreementNot unless she can prove that their relationship was one of cohabitees and that there was an intention to share property acquired during this period.
What is the legal status of two people who were married to one another, got divorced but then live together again ?
Cohabitation •Without an AgreementA divorced couple who cohabit will acquire the status of common-law spouses or cohabitees provided they live together under one roof and run a common household. The fact that they were once married only strengthens their current status as cohabitees.
If a couple split up after cohabiting as common law spouses and just then date, living separately, but staying overnight with each other occasionally, do they regain their former status, and any rights/obligations it may give ?
Cohabitation •Without an AgreementNo – from the description given they would appear to fall short of the criteria required to become common law spouses again. To fall into this category once again they would have to cohabit, run the household jointly and intend to have this economic or financial partnership.
If a widow and widower live separately , each in their own apartment, but meet daily and occasionally sleep at one another’s home, will they be regarded as “common-law spouses” ?
Cohabitation •Without an AgreementNo ! The fact that each of them runs his/her own household independently rules out the possibility of them qualifying as common-law spouses in the eyes of the law. Living together and partnership in the financing and running of the home are key factors to acquiring such status.
I live together with a woman on a kibbutz. We are both pensioners. One of us is a widow and one a divorcee. We did not want to get married for various reasons. Do we qualify as common-law man and wife , or does the fact that we are on a kibbutz, or pensioners, prevent this ?
Cohabitation •Without an AgreementA man and a woman who are pensioners and who reside on a kibbutz can qualify as cohabitees providing that they fulfil the necessary legal requirements – the main ones being living together under one roof and running the household jointly.
I have been living with a woman for many years. Our relationship has soured of late and she has hinted at being entitled to part of my property. While neither of us is married to anyone else, I do have intimate relations with another woman, and have done so for years. Would this fact be in my favour and help to protect my rights if the woman I live with claims to be my common-law wife ?
Cohabitation •Without an AgreementNo ! The Supreme Court has held that a man or woman can still have the status of a cohabitee even if one of them has intimate relations with someone else.
Do a man and woman who live together have to have intimate relations to qualify as having the status of cohabitees with property rights regarding one another ?
Cohabitation •Without an AgreementThe Supreme Court has held that the traditional test of cohabitees is not black and white. One of the key elements of the test is that the sides live together as a couple and while intimate relations are presumed to be part of couplehood between a man and a woman, the Supreme court had held that a man and a woman can still be cohabitees when they cease to have intimate relations and even live in separate rooms. However, it is still much easier to prove the status of a cohabitee when a man and woman do have intimate relations and sleep in the same bedroom.
Would a man and woman who are meet at weekends, staying in one of their apartments alternatively, but who do not cohabit during the week, be regarded as common-law spouses, if he also contributes to her rent ?
Cohabitation •Without an AgreementNo ! Cohabitation at weekends alone is insufficient to meet the criteria for common-law spouses or cohabitees, even if one party contributes financially to the other’s rent. Cohabitation under one roof is a key element which is missing her and financially contribution towards the rent does not make up for this.’
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