If you want cohabitation rights, get married
by Harry Benson, The Conservative Woman:
After 23 years and four children together, Siobhan McLaughlin’s partner died, leaving her to cope on her own.
I’ve been married for 32 years and can’t imagine the awfulness of losing the person who is closest to me. So I have a great deal of sympathy.
Needing to make ends meet, Ms McLaughlin tried to claim a benefit as a widow and found out that she wasn’t entitled. The benefit is only for married widows. She wasn’t married. There will have been plenty of other benefits to which she was entitled as a parent. Just not that one.
However yesterday the Supreme Court in its infinite wisdom ruled that this denial of benefit is incompatible with Human Rights law. Now the government will have to consider how and whether to change the law accordingly.
But how will they do it and should they give rights to cohabiting couples at all?
To many, it is obvious: of course couples who have lived and loved together a long time should get similar rights to married couples.
But should they? There are three major problems that make this anything but obvious.
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