Family Solicitors in Clapham

Family law work in Clapham leans more toward cohabitation than in many areas because Lambeth has an unusually high proportion of people who have never married. At the 2021 Census, 62.2% of Lambeth residents aged 16 and over said they had never married or entered a civil partnership, up from 58.4% in 2011 - one of the highest rates in London. That matters because cohabiting couples get none of the automatic financial protections divorcing couples do. There is no such thing as a 'common law marriage', no matter how long a couple has lived together.

When an unmarried couple in Clapham separates, property disputes fall under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 rather than the more flexible Matrimonial Causes Act, and a partner with no interest recorded on the title can come away with very little regardless of the relationship's length. Arrangements for children aren't affected by marital status. Still, finances and property are - which is why a cohabitation agreement, made before anything goes wrong, matters more here than in areas where marriage is the norm.