Isn't 'common-law marriage' a real thing after a few years?

No. Common-law marriage does not exist in England and Wales — not after two years, ten years, or fifty. An unmarried partner has no automatic right to inherit anything, no matter how long you have lived together or how intertwined your finances are.

We're joint tenants — do we still need wills?

Yes. Survivorship only covers the property itself. Everything else you own — savings, investments, possessions, any lump sums paid into your estate — passes under the intestacy rules to your blood relatives, not your partner. And if you both die together, intestacy decides everything, house included.

How do I check how we own our home?

Download your title register from HM Land Registry online for a small fee. If you own as tenants in common, the register usually shows a 'Form A restriction' on the proprietorship entries. No restriction generally means joint tenants — though the transfer documents from when you bought will confirm it.

Will my partner pay inheritance tax if I leave them everything?

Possibly. The spouse exemption does not apply to unmarried couples, so anything above the £325,000 nil-rate band passing to your partner is taxed at 40%. For most estates that means no tax — but with a house involved, it is worth doing the sums, and larger estates should take advice.

Can we make matching wills?

Yes — that's exactly what mirror wills are: two reciprocal wills, one for each of you, typically leaving everything to each other with the same backstop beneficiaries. They cost £55 for the pair at SwiftWill, and either of you can update yours later as life changes.

Unmarried and Own a House Together? Wills

You own a house together but aren't married — what a will does for you

Quick answer

If you own a home with your partner but aren't married or civil partners, the law gives you no automatic right to inherit from each other — no matter how long you've been together. What happens to the house depends on how you own it, and a will is what protects the survivor.

The legal position no one tells unmarried couples

You may have picked tiles together, split the deposit, and shared every mortgage payment — but in the eyes of the law in England and Wales, you are two unrelated individuals. There is no such thing as a "common-law marriage". If one of you dies, the other hasno automatic right to inherit anything at all, under the intestacy rules. Length of relationship, shared bills, even shared children make no difference to that basic rule.

How you own the house decides what happens without a will

Couples own property in one of two ways, and the difference is everything:

Joint tenants. You own the whole property together. When one of you dies, it passes automatically to the survivor — outside any will. The good news: the survivor keeps the home. The bad news: everything else you own — savings, investments, possessions — goes to your blood family under intestacy, not to your partner.
Tenants in common. You each own a defined share (often 50/50). Your share does not pass automatically — without a will it goes to your parents, siblings or other relatives. The survivor can end up owning half a house alongside your family, and can be forced into a sale.

Either way, dying without a will leaves the person you love in a worse position than the law would ever give a married spouse.

What a will lets you do

Tenants in common: leave your share of the house to your partner, so the survivor ends up owning the whole home rather than co-owning with your relatives.
Joint tenants: your will covers everything beyond the house — savings, pensions paid to the estate, possessions — and decides what happens if you both die together.
Name each other as executors, so the survivor is in charge of the estate rather than watching a relative apply to administer it.
Add backstop beneficiaries — who inherits if you are both gone — so nothing is left to the intestacy lottery.

Most couples in your position make matching wills; our guide to wills for unmarried couples covers the whole picture.

When you need a solicitor instead

We are will writers, not a law firm — and some property situations need proper legal advice. See a solicitor (or licensed conveyancer) if:

you contributed unequal shares and want a declaration of trust recording who owns what;
you want to sever a joint tenancy — converting to tenants in common so your share can pass by will — as part of a wider plan;
your estate is large enough that inheritance tax bites: unmarried partners get no spouse exemption, so anything above the £325,000 nil-rate band passing between you is taxed at 40%. With a house in the mix, that threshold arrives sooner than people expect.

Our page do I need a solicitor for a will? sets out the boundary honestly.

How to protect each other this week

If your affairs are straightforward, you can each make a will in about 15 minutes: start here, answer plain-English questions, and download instantly. It costs £35 one-time (or £55 for a pair of mirror wills), with free updates for life and no upsells. Then print and sign in wet ink with two witnesses present together, as s.9 of the Wills Act 1837 requires. Until it is signed, none of this protection exists.