Cohabitants' rights - changes when their partner dies and leaves no will: consultation - easy read version

What the law says at the moment

The law says that if 1 person dies, their partner can get some of their money and belongings if the will says so.

But if the person who dies had not written a will, their partner does not get any of their money or belongings.

If there was no will, the law decides how their money and belongings should be shared out.

If their partner wants to ask for some of the share, they need to apply to the court in the 6 months after the death.

Applying means filling in the right forms and this is normally done by the person’s solicitor.

Solicitors are people who know about the law and can give advice or help with law problems.

There are problems with this law.

Courts are not told how the money will be used to help the partner left behind.

Courts are places where the law is used to sort out problems and decide what happens next.

There are too many details for courts to think about when they decide for each person applying.

There is not much guidance for courts about which issues are most important each time.

The words used to explain what cohabitants are, are not clear.

This makes it tricky for courts to decide what needs to happen next.

6 months is not long enough for a partner to apply to the court.