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COHABITING COUPLES are the fastest growing family unit in the State. Latest figures show there was almost a four-fold rise in the number of unmarried couples living together between 1996 and 2006. Yet, this radical social change is not reflected in our family laws. In the eyes of the State, the family unit is still based on marriage. Unmarried couples who have been living together for decades often assume they enjoy some form of legal protection. They do not. The harsh reality is that neither the length of a relationship nor the birth of a child results in any legal rights.

This gap in the law has resulted in many cases of injustice and financial hardship following the death or break-up of a relationship. The Civil Partnership Bill seeks to change this. Under the proposed laws, a “safety net” redress scheme is expected to become law before the summer. It will apply to both opposite sex and same-sex unmarried couples who have been living together for three years, or two years in the case of a cohabiting couple with children. This could force a former cohabitant to pay divorce-style maintenance or give a share of their property to a dependent partner.