No will + unmarried partner = they may get nothing. Why?

“Common-law wife.” “Common-law husband.” Here is the uncomfortable truth: in England & Wales, there is legally no such thing — and the myth costs surviving partners everything, at the worst moment of their lives.

The myth and the reality

The belief: live together long enough and you acquire marriage-like rights. The reality: on intestacy, a cohabiting partner has no automatic right to inherit anything. Not after ten years. Not after forty. The law counts certificates, not anniversaries.

The house

If the home is in your partner's sole name, on their death it passes down the intestacy queue — their children, parents, siblings. The surviving partner can find themselves asking the in-laws for permission to remain in their own home.

The one saving grace is joint tenancy: if you own the home together as joint tenants, survivorship passes it to you automatically. But that rescues only that single asset — and only if the ownership was set up that way.

Everything else

Sole-name bank accounts, savings, the car, investments — all of it follows the family queue, not the partner. The person who shared the life watches the assets pass sideways to relatives.

The partial safety nets — read the small print

• The 1975 Act claim: a cohabitant of two years or more can apply to court for provision from the estate. But look at what that sentence means — suing your late partner's family, while grieving, at real cost, with no guaranteed outcome. Your protection should not be a lawsuit.
• Pension death benefits: these usually sit outside the estate and follow your nomination form. Check yours is current — it may be the only document actually pointing at your partner.

The conclusion that writes itself

A pair of straightforward wills — plus five minutes checking how the house is owned and where the pension nomination points — converts the most exposed household type in succession law into one of the best protected.