Justice Secretary Alex Norris is facing criticism from senior legal figures regarding proposals to grant unmarried couples court-enforced rights after three years of cohabitation. These plans, inherited from predecessor David Lammy, are currently under government consultation.
The proposed reforms would allow courts to intervene in break-ups of unmarried couples who have a child or have lived together for three years, enabling asset division similar to divorce proceedings. Baroness Ruth Deech, a crossbench peer, has written to Norris, stating there is no clear public mandate for the reform and that it would undermine the concept of consent.
Baroness Deech told City AM that if the proposals proceed, individuals could be "plunged into an intimate and overwhelming legal status without their consent or knowing about it." She also warned that the cost of litigation in cohabitation disputes would be "horrendous," potentially consuming most of the assets being contested.
The proposals, introduced in June and open for consultation until 14th August, would automatically impose financial, property, and inheritance rights on unmarried couples unless both partners legally opt out. If one partner refuses to opt out, the law would still apply.
Critics have warned that the reforms could lead to an additional 10,000 court cases per year. Judge Edward Hess, deputy national lead judge of the Financial Remedies Court, stated that the government has provided a "superficial and unsatisfactory analysis" of the impact on the UK's court system, which already faces a significant backlog.
A recent Survation poll indicated that 72 per cent of adults knew little or nothing about the reforms, with only 37 per cent expressing support for them.