Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Cohabitant definition

What does Cohabitant mean? In legal practice, a cohabitant is a person who lives with another as part of an intimate couple on a settled basis, without being married to each other or in a civil partnership. The term is used across family, housing and succession law to identify when unmarried partners may seek remedies (such as domestic abuse orders, inheritance provision or property claims), but precise meanings vary by statute and jurisdiction. In England and Wales, statutes refer to cohabitants; for inheritance claims, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 requires at least two years’ cohabitation “as the spouse or civil...

Cohabitants' claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975: two-year requirement, 'same household' test and same-sex partners (England and Wales)

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Practice notes

The Cohabitant

The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (I(PFD)A 1975) allows a claim by someone who cohabited with the deceased, and applies to partners of the deceased whether opposite sex or same sex.

To advance a claim, the applicant must demonstrate:

that Cohabitation continued throughout the two years immediately prior to the deceased’s death
that they shared the same household as the deceased
that they lived with the deceased as their husband or wife, or civil partner

The court will consider the realities of relationships, including brief separations, for example due to employment requiring time away from the family home.

Likewise, a period of active service in the armed forces will also not be held against the claimant.

Accordingly, the requirement of living together right up to death is not always interpreted strictly.

authorities suggest the focus should be on the general arrangements that existed during the deceased’s lifetime, rather than the De facto, and potentially shifting, position at the time of death.

Accordingly, the court evaluates the pattern of the relationship over time, not a mere snapshot at the moment of passing.

Thus, in a comparable situation, if a person were briefly apart for work duties...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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