Backward Brits

As part of buying a house we have been doing a lot of research. As you may expect we have investigated the property market, mortgages, insurance, conveyancing, surveys, currency exchange etc. But Adam also picked up on the fact that there are no defacto rights in Britain when one partner dies, and therefore it is very important that we have wills drawn up. So I started researching just what our rights are, thinking surely that they are similar to Australia. But no. There are no defacto rights.

"As an unmarried mother you have sole responsibility for a child" unless the father agrees to accept responsibility. And "A male partner is not presumed to be the father of a child. His name can only appear on the birth certificate in certain well-defined circumstances." I know some British women are skanks but I don't know that they are necessarily the unmarried ones. Although, if you are married it sounds like a doctor is entitled to ask your partner's permission before fitting an IUD.

Of course, as in NSW, you can draw up a cohabitation agreement. But "it is not clear whether cohabitation contracts are legally enforceable". And gay couples are in the same boat. Although they are assessed as individuals for social security benefits which I guess is good in some situations but rules them out of family benefits. But the times they are a changing.