Inheritance Act 1975 Claims for Cohabiting Partners in Wales

When a partner dies without a will in Wales, the legal system does not recognise a cohabiting relationship no matter how long it lasted. Unlike spouses and civil partners, an unmarried surviving partner is treated as a legal stranger under the intestacy rules — they inherit nothing automatically. If the relationship lasted two years or more, however, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 offers a route to financial provision. That route is tightly time-limited, and most people miss it entirely.

What the intestacy rules actually say

The intestacy rules for England and Wales are set out in the Administration of Estates Act 1925. When someone dies without a valid will, their estate passes to relatives in a fixed order: first a surviving spouse or civil partner, then children, then parents, then siblings, and so on. A cohabiting partner does not appear anywhere in that list.

If the deceased had children, the surviving spouse would receive the statutory legacy — the first £322,000 of the estate plus all personal possessions — and half of whatever remains. The children share the other half. A cohabiting partner, by contrast, receives none of this regardless of how long the couple lived together or how financially intertwined their lives were.

If the deceased had no children, a surviving spouse would inherit the entire estate. Again, a cohabiting partner receives nothing.

The myth of the "common-law spouse" is deeply entrenched in Wales and across England. Courts repeatedly confirm it does not exist. Without a will naming the cohabiting partner as a beneficiary, the only legal recourse is an Inheritance Act claim.

What the Inheritance Act 1975 can do

The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 allows certain people to apply to the court for financial provision from an estate where the will or the intestacy rules have left them without "reasonable financial provision." Cohabiting partners fall within the eligible categories, but they must meet a specific threshold.

To qualify as a cohabiting partner under the Act, you must show that you were living in the same household as the deceased, as their partner, for at least two consecutive years immediately before the death. Breaks in cohabitation — even brief ones — can undermine a claim.

A second qualifying category is financial dependence. If you can show you were wholly or partly maintained by the deceased immediately before their death, you may qualify even without meeting the two-year cohabitation requirement. This is harder to establish and usually requires documentary evidence such as bank statements or correspondence showing financial support.

What the court can award

For surviving spouses and civil partners, the Act allows the court to award "such financial provision as it would be reasonable in all the circumstances for a husband or wife to receive." This is a generous standard.

Cohabiting partners receive a narrower test: only such provision as is reasonable for their maintenance. In practice, this means the court looks at what the surviving partner needs to live on — housing costs, income replacement, and essential outgoings — rather than what a spouse might receive by way of an equal share of the marital estate.

The court has broad discretion to award a lump sum, periodic payments, a transfer of specific property, or a settlement on trust. In cases where the couple jointly owned a home but the title was in the deceased's name alone, the court may order a transfer of the property or a charge over it to secure the survivor's housing.

Evidence you will need to gather

A successful Inheritance Act claim in Wales requires credible evidence of the cohabitation and the financial relationship. Start collecting now:

• Proof of cohabitation — utility bills, council tax bills, bank statements, joint tenancy agreements, and correspondence addressed to both partners at the same address
• Evidence of financial interdependence — joint bank accounts, contributions to household expenses, payments the deceased made on your behalf
• Timeline documentation — anything that establishes the two-year continuous period, such as tenancy commencement dates, utility account opening dates, and HMRC correspondence showing a shared address
• Record of the deceased's estate — the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, if already issued, will show the estate's value and composition

Social media posts, photographs, witness statements from friends and family, and records of joint social memberships or subscriptions can all support the credibility of a long-term cohabiting relationship.

The six-month deadline you cannot miss

This is the single most important piece of information for any cohabiting partner in this position. Under section 4 of the Inheritance Act 1975, court proceedings must be issued within six months of the date a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration is extracted. Not six months from the death. Six months from the grant.

The grant date is later than the death date, but probate can move quickly if the executor acts promptly. The July 2026 probate fee increase from £300 to £526 has prompted many executors to submit applications at speed to beat the deadline — meaning grants in some estates are arriving faster than usual.

If you miss the six-month window, you can apply to the court for permission to bring a late claim. Permission is not automatic. Courts have refused late applications even where genuine hardship exists. Do not rely on this safety net.

Contact a solicitor experienced in contentious probate as soon as you become aware the estate is in administration. Initial consultations are often free, and many solicitors will take Inheritance Act claims on a no-win, no-fee basis where the case has merit.

What happens if there is a will

The Inheritance Act 1975 is not limited to intestacy. If the deceased made a will that excluded the cohabiting partner — or left only a token gift — the same six-month deadline and eligibility rules apply. The claim process is identical. The court will still apply the maintenance standard, weighing the survivor's needs against the size of the estate and the competing claims of other beneficiaries.

If the will is contested on separate grounds — allegations of undue influence or lack of mental capacity — a Caveat can be lodged at the Probate Registry to pause the grant while the dispute is resolved. Inheritance Act proceedings and will validity challenges can run in parallel, but they are legally distinct.

When the statutory legacy matters

Even in intestate estates where you do qualify as a spouse, the £322,000 statutory legacy can create complications. If the estate is worth exactly £322,000, the surviving spouse receives everything. If it is worth £400,000, the spouse receives £322,000 plus half of the remaining £78,000 (£39,000), totalling £361,000, with the other £39,000 going to the children.

For a cohabiting partner, none of these calculations apply. You receive zero from intestacy regardless of the estate value. An Inheritance Act claim is your only option.

The Wales Survivor Benefits Navigator covers the full checklist for cohabiting partners, including a step-by-step Inheritance Act 1975 action plan, the evidence you need to prove two years of cohabitation, and the exact deadline calendar tied to the probate grant date. Get the complete toolkit at /uk/wales/survivor-benefits/.

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