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Since October 2014, the rules governing who inherits when someone dies without a Will (the ‘Rules of Intestacy’) have remained largely unchanged. They recognise spouses and civil partners, and based on the value of the estate or if no spouse or civil partner exists, consider biological and/or adopted children. If no spouses/civil partners or children exist, who inherits follows a hierarchy of blood relatives. The Rules of Intestacy do not recognise your partner, regardless of the length of your relationship/ time spent living together or prevalence of children, if you never married or entered into a civil partnership.
The only route generally available for a partner to claim against their late partner’s estate is to claim under the Inheritance Tax 1975, but only if they lived together for more than two years or were financially dependent. It should also be considered:
- Would your partner know they could make a claim?
- Could your partner afford to make a claim?
- Would your partner be able to manage the stress that comes with raising a claim?
With many arguing that the Rules of Intestacy do not reflect modern family structures, with over 3.5 million couples living together, a consultation opened to reform the law for cohabitants if their partner dies without a Will.
The consultation and what it proposes
On 5 June 2026, the Ministry of Justice launched the consultation called A Fairer End to Relationships. It asks whether cohabiting couples should have greater legal protection both when a relationship ends through separation and when it ends through death. The consultation closes on 14 August 2026.
The Law Commission has recommended treating cohabitating couples akin to married couples or civil partners on death, if they haven’t made a Will. The surviving cohabitee would be entitled to the entire estate if there are no children, or £322,000 and half of the remainder of the estate if there are surviving children, and would have first entitlement to obtain a Grant of Letters of Administration and administer the estate.
The proposed threshold being considered for qualifying couples is living together for at least three years or sharing a child. However, the consultation has suggested that there would be no impact on pension entitlement or Inheritance Tax. Whilst spouse exemption ensures that an estate can pass to the surviving widow(er) or civil partner Inheritance Tax free, there will be no equivalent for a surviving partner.
The law has not changed yet
It is important to be clear about what the consultation is and is not. It is a genuine opportunity for reform, not a guarantee of it. Even if the Government moves forward, legislation takes time. The existing legal position will not change for years, and may not change at all in the way the consultation currently envisions.
The most vulnerable period for cohabiting couples remains the present. Someone who dies today without a Will leaves their partner with no automatic entitlement. The intestacy rules do not make allowances for the length of the relationship, the depth of financial interdependence or the practical reality of family life as it was actually lived.
The protection available right now comes from taking steps under the existing law, not from waiting to see what the consultation produces.
Making a Will is the most direct way of ensuring a partner is provided for. It removes the uncertainty entirely. It also allows for wishes to be expressed in a way that reflects the relationship as it actually is, rather than relying on a statutory scheme that will, whatever form it eventually takes, be designed for the general case rather than any particular family’s circumstances.
For couples who own property together, understanding how that ownership is structured matters too. The way a shared home is held legally has direct consequences for what happens to it when one partner dies, and it is worth checking that the arrangements in place genuinely reflect what both partners intend.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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