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Hello new hear and after some legal advice.
My partner has been separated from her partner for about 4 years now. She left and had to go into a refuge. However she has said though she has had been with him 15 years and not married had two kids and wasn't on the mortage that she is entitled to nothing not half the house or savings nothing. Is this true? as I thought there was a common law wife rule?
The reason im asking is he was paying child maintenance but this has stopped due to him losing his job so quite a big sum of money has stopped coming into the house but he has thousands in savings a 6 hundred thousand pound house. hes talking about not working for a few years (probably till the kids are old enough where he doesn't have to pay for them).
Hes not allowed to see the kids because of what happened and they don't want to see him we have asked as he has asked to see them but they don't want to they are now 10 and 12.
What I want to know is what she is entitled to?
Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks
Hi, there's no such thing as a common law wife.
I would suggest your partner takes advantage of a free consultation with a family lawyer to assess if she has any chance of a successful claim in financial proceedings.
It would be unfair of us to comment without having all the information, and for something like finances, you really need specialist advice.
With regard to contact, even though the children are 10 and 12, it is still a lot of responsibility to place on their shoulders given the history involved. They might not be totally honest with your partner about that as they may feel they need her emotional permission.
If your partner believes it is safe for the children to see their father, perhaps you could consider suggesting that they have some indirect contact to begin with and go from there. The older they get, the harder it will be for them to have some sort of relationship with him (I speak from experience) and while they are still young, they have a better chance of repairing their bond.
Best of luck
Financially, the only money she is entitled to is child benefit, which is based on his income. Otherwise, as above, there is no such thing as a common law wife as far as the law is concerned.
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