Despite popular belief, there is no such thing as a common law marriage. In fact, common law marriage has not existed since 1753. Separating couples have very minimal legal rights or protection.
The findings from this year's British Social Attitudes Survey carried out by the National Centre for Social Research revealed that 46% of people surveyed are under the false impression that cohabiting couples form a common law marriage.
Cohabitation does not provide any legal status to a couple living together. Cohabiting couples now account for the fastest growing household in England and Wales, almost 50% of children are born to parents who are not married.
