What is seamless cohabitation?

Under Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (and Civil Partnership Act 2004), the duration of the marriage will be considered by the courts when determining a financial settlement, i.e. a shorter marriage may justify a departure from the principle of equal sharing. 

Following GW v RW [2003] EWHC 611, the courts may consider the duration of a premarital relationship as counting towards the length of a marriage, “where a relationship moves seamlessly from cohabitation to marriage”.   

However, cohabitation alone is not sufficient. The courts will examine whether the premarital relationship could be said to have become “quasi-marital” (as per IX v IY [2018] EWHC 3053). There is no straightforward formula to determine this, rather the court will take a broad look at the relationship between the parties and consider markers such as: 

• Purchasing a property together 

• Financial co-dependence or a pooling of financial resources 

• A committed sexual relationship 

• Mutual support between the parties 

• The parties’ intentions in choosing to cohabit 

If you lived with your spouse prior to marriage and would like to know how it could affect your financial settlement on divorce, contact Vardags today for a free initial consultation. 

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