What could new rights for unmarried couples mean for your money?

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. What could new rights for unmarried couples mean for your money? Image source, Getty ImagesByGrace DeanPublished4 minutes agoWhen Amelia's fiance died suddenly in his 20s, just months before their wedding, she never imagined the legal and financial turmoil that would follow. "I lost him," she says, "and then I lost everything we'd ever built together.

" The couple had been together more than seven years and shared a business. But they were not married and Simon did not have a will, so his mother and father inherited all of his assets - apart from the couple's house - and Amelia was unable to stop them. "I ended up in a legal battle with his parents," says Amelia, whose real name and that of her late fiance we are not using for legal reasons.

The Details

Simon's parents kept his car, phone and pension, as well as more personal items including his clothes, CDs and aftershave - as was their legal right. Amelia says she was also unable to get back her share of savings she'd transferred into an account in Simon's name to pay for their upcoming wedding. The experience left Amelia feeling like her relationship with Simon "meant nothing", she says.

"It felt like he was being ripped away from me again, every time something else was taken. "Giving the artwork from our bedroom wall and the shirt I wore to his funeral was ridiculously hard. " Amelia says she spent nearly £10,000 on legal advice and trying to get back her share of the wedding savings.

And though she was able to keep their house, as she and Simon had bought it as joint tenants, she now also has to pay his half of their mortgage. Some of Amelia's friends have been so spooked by her experience, they have since taken out wills and life insurance. "Everyone just assumed that I was entitled to everything," she says.

What Experts Say

Currently, couples who live together but are unmarried have few legal rights if they separate or one dies without a will. But last month, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) launched a 10-week consultation on proposals that would change this for people in England and Wales, external. Image source, Getty ImagesUnder the proposals, if one partner dies, the other would be able to inherit their assets in certain circumstances.

In the event of a break-up, one partner could be entitled to a lump-sum payment from the other. The consultation is the first hurdle on a potentially lengthy road to the rules becoming law, and if the proposals do become a reality, they'd mark a huge change. Countries like Sweden and Australia already have similar rules.

In England and Wales, campaign groups hope the proposals could make life easier for those who are widowed or trapped in abusive relationships. But some have questioned the need for a new system, when marriage and civil partnerships already offer people the chance to become fully legally joined. Others want to know how the law might work, and whether they could opt out of the system.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.