A clear opportunity exists to change the law to reflect how we live today more accurately. The Scottish Law Commission is now reviewing the cohabitation laws.
Currently, persons who cohabit—that is, live together as though they were a married couple or in a civil partnership—receive protections and benefits when they separate, or one of them passes away that are far less generous than those offered to those in legal relationships.
If they decide not to enter into a formal arrangement, a sizable portion of the population will be left behind legally and will have to deal with a great deal of ambiguity.
Lockdowns have increased the number of people living together as well as, for some, hastened previous plans for joint living. Data from the Mortgage Advice Bureau published in 2021 revealed a 60% increase in cohabitating couples filing joint mortgage applications in 2020, year over year.
The law has to create a better, more reliable foundation for achieving fairness and to more closely reflect the structure of our society now more than ever. Scotland has the potential to bring about significant change.
Alongside any reassessment, additional education will be required regarding what cohabitation is and isn't, as well as the unique hazards and difficulties that cohabitees encounter. And eventual change need not entail a complete redesign.
But it's crucial that our legal frameworks match the way we choose to live and that any inconsistencies are corrected as soon as possible. That moment for cohabitation is now.