We are delighted to announce the forthcoming publication of
a new RHE Media title – Living Together and the Law: A Guide to Cohabitation by David Cobern. For more information
on the book please visit our website at http://www.wordstothewise.co.uk/living-together-and-the-law.html The book provides comprehensive coverage of
protective measures and remedies available to you as an unmarried partner.
Written for a general readership, it provides clear and straightforward
guidance on topics such as: property; children; finances; Cohabitation
Agreements; unmarried partners and business interests; the death of an
unmarried partner; Alternative Dispute Resolution, etc.
More and more couples are choosing to live together outside
marriage. In 2015, out of a total of 18.7 million families living in the UK,
12.5 million consisted of married couples (including same-sex married/civil
partnerships) and 3.2 million consisted of unmarried couples. This is compared with just 2.1 million
cohabiting unmarried couples in 2000. This trend is expected to continue and it
is now likely that, in the UK, more than half of 20-year-olds will never marry.
Many couples living together in long-term unmarried
relationships mistakenly believe they have the same rights as couples who are
married. Some cohabitees think of themselves as the ‘common-law spouse’ and they
believe they are in a ‘common-law marriage’. So it can come as a shock to
discover that ‘common-law marriage’ is a myth and living with someone for a
long time gives you no legal rights at all. Therefore, if it all goes wrong and
you separate what do you do about, for example:
- the house you bought or rented together and the improvements you made to it that increased its value;
- the children you had together;
- the possessions you bought together or gave each other;
- the business you ran together?
How can the law help you if you have no legal rights in
relation to any of these things?
The author is very clear that this is not a book about how
to end a relationship. Instead it is a book that aims to prevent common areas
of dispute between unmarried partners from becoming the reason for a breakdown
in their relationship. Benjamin Franklin said that ‘an ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure’ and these wise words apply in spades when talking about
the potential legal and emotional costs of disputes between cohabitees. As a
result this book could be the most cost-effective purchase you ever make!
This book may seem a bit of a departure from the publisher
that has brought you The Dangerous Bookfor Grandads and humorous titles by Heath Robinson. However, Living Together and the Law is closely
related to our overall mission to promote wellbeing. Establishing stable and
lasting relationships is a key aspect of wellbeing for most human beings and,
obviously, problems in relationships have huge implications for personal
wellbeing, so the book provides valuable guidance on ways in which you can
ensure that legal issues do not undermine your relationship with your partner.
The RHE Media mission statement is ‘Adding years to your
life and life to your years’. As a publisher I am delighted to read that
research now shows that reading books does exactly this! An article on
Wednesday in The New York Times says
that reading books is tied to a longer life – see the article at: http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2016/08/03/read-books-live-longer/?smid=fb-share&_r=3&referer=http://www.thebookseller.com/news/benefits-reading-include-longer-life-claims-study-371536
There may be several reasons why reading books contributes
to living longer and reducing stress, a key life-limiting factor, could be one
of them. An ideal way to prolong your life is therefore to read Living Together and the Law as this will
reduce stress in two ways – firstly through the act of reading and, secondly,
by providing solutions to potentially stressful issues in your relationship!
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