The point has already been made, but it does seem a little odd that the Law Commission is proposing that cohabitants should have an entitlement on intestacy, while at the same time the Government has shelved plans to give cohabitants property rights upon separation. If the Law Commission's proposals are passed into law, we could have the very strange situation whereby if your partners dies intestate then you will automatically receive part of their estate, whereas if they leave you then you will receive nothing. Of course, we already have the situation whereby a cohabitant can benefit from their deceased partner's estate if they make a successful family provision claim although, as the Law commission points out, such a claim is expensive and stressful, and involves litigation against the deceased’s relatives and even perhaps the cohabitant’s own children.

Time for a bit of joined-up thinking, perhaps?