Cohabiting parents is on the rise

Cohabiting parents is on the rise

Children in the UK living with cohabiting parents is on the rise

The Office for Nation Statistics (ONS) is continuously publishing data which reveals the ever-changing landscape of family life in the UK. Their latest publication has been to release further date from Census 2021 on “Dependent children in households including in step-families and blended families, multi-generational households, and households with three or more children”.

In this latest publication it shows that in 2021, of the 12.6 million dependent children living in households in the UK, 16.2% were more likely to live with parents who were cohabiting couple (not in a marriage or civil partnership) compared to 14.2% in 2011. The data also showed that in 2021 1.2 million households contained three or more dependent children. When these households were compared with households with one or two dependent children, they were more likely to contain no employed adults (19.8% compared with 11.9%), to contain one or more disabled people (33.4% compared with 25.4%), or to be overcrowded (25.7% compared with 8.6%).

The date also showed that in 2021 5.4% were more likely to live in multi-generational households compared to 4% in 2011. Three-quarters (76.1%, 402,000) of multi-generational family households contained dependent children; of those with dependent children, one-third (34.2%) were overcrowded compared with 10.0% of other households with dependent children.

In 2021, 8.8% (1.1 million) of dependent children lived in step-families, a decrease from 2011 (9.7%, 1.2 million). Of all dependent children living in a step-family, 12.6% reported staying at a second parent or guardian’s address for more than 30 days a year, a similar proportion to 12.8% of dependent children living in a lone parent family (not a step-family). The number of privately rented households has also increased from 19.1% in 2011 up to 22.6% in 2021.

Some might say, why should we care?

The answer to that lies in the fact that if and when families break apart, the law governing how assets should be divided is very different if you are a cohabiting couple compared to those who are married or in a civil partnership. There is no such thing as a common law marriage so many children of cohabiting parents may find the transition to a new normal even more challenging if their parent does not realise this. It is important therefore, since cohabitation is on the increase, to understand your legal rights and options as early into your relationship as possible. Taking proactive action at the start or even during your relationship the is far more preferable than having to react to a situation after your relationship has broken down.

At Kerseys Solicitors, our experienced Family Law team can guide anyone through a relationship breakup no matter what the circumstances.

Contact our team at Kerseys Solicitors in Ipswich at [email protected] or telephone 01473 213311, Kerseys Solicitors in Felixstowe at [email protected] on 01394 834557 or Kerseys Solicitors in Colchester at [email protected] on 01206 584584 today to find out more about our initial consultation process.

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