Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales
Your legal rights and responsibilities
When you get married or form a civil partnership, you get certain legal rights and responsibilities. These include:
- legally becoming your partner’s spouse or civil partner
- eligibility for certain tax benefits, including inheritance tax allowances
- parental rights and responsibilities if you have children with your spouse or civil partner
- the right to inherit from your spouse or civil partner if they die without a will
These do not apply if you live with your partner but are not married or in a civil partnership. ‘Common law marriages’ do not exist in England and Wales, even if you’ve lived together for a long time or have children.
Changes to your will
If you already have a will when you get married or form a civil partnership, it will usually become invalid.
Your husband, wife or civil partner will normally inherit all or part of your estate, depending on how much it’s worth. If you do not want this to happen, you’ll need to make a new will.
If you get divorced or separate
If you divorce or dissolve your civil partnership, there are different things you can do to: