Rights of cohabiting couples

Information

Cohabitants are defined in the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 as two same-sex or opposite-sex adults who are:

• Not married to each other and
• Not in a registered civil partnership and
• Not related within the prohibited degrees of relationship (broadly speaking, relationships which would make them ineligible to marry each other) and
• Living together in an intimate and committed relationship

Cohabitants (cohabiting couples) do not possess the same legal rights and obligations as married couples or civil partnerships. Given the limited legal recognition of your relationshipship, this will obviously have some significant implications for various parts of your life.

This section aims to guide you through the various issues associated with living in a cohabiting relationship in Ireland. You will find out about the rights and entitlements of cohabitants in a range of areas such as:

• Property rights
• Property rights after the breakdown of a cohabiting relationship
• Redress scheme for cohabiting couples
• The legal guardianship of children
• The custody of children
• Access rights relating to children
• Adoption
• Fostering
• Inheritance rights
• Maintenance
• Access to fertility services