Money expert Martin Lewis has warned couples who live together but who aren’t married that they could be kicked out of their house.
That’s because of a little known rule about how inheritance works and what happens to your estate after you die.
It’s something nobody really wants to think about, but Martin Lewis has urged people who aren’t married to take action as soon as possible – because if the worst does happen you could find the partner you leave behind being thrown out of your house, even if you own it.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Martin Lewis podcast on BBC Sounds, Spotify and Apple Music, Martin warned: “For unmarried couples, and by unmarried I mean you’re not married and you don’t have a civil partnership which is legally akin to marriage.
“If you are unmarried, in law it basically means diddly squat. That’s the best way to think about it.
“It’s irrelevant. You may have been together for decades, everybody may know you’re a couple, you may have 35 children, in law it means diddly squat.”
Martin then added that you need a will, otherwise your other half could find themselves without a home if you die.
He continued: “So you need if you want to look after your inheritance either make a will or do some form of contract or do a civil partnership or get married.
“That’s what you need to do to protect your assets.
“You could find that your partner that you lived with for years doesn’t get your house and can’t stay in the house.”
Right now, it’s Free Wills Month in parts of the UK, which means that you can get a solicitor to draw up a will for free, in exchange for an optional donation of whatever you can afford to pay.
Age UK says: “Free Wills Month takes place in March and October. From 1 – 31 October, Age UK supporters who are 55 or over can have a simple will written or updated free of charge by a participating solicitor.
“If you choose to write your will through Free Wills Month we hope you’ll consider leaving a gift in your will to Age UK, although there’s no obligation to do so.”
