Cohabiting Couples

Who are cohabitants?

Cohabitants are two opposite or same-sex adults who are:

living together in an intimate and committed relationship
not married to each other
not in a registered civil partnership
not related to each other.

Children of cohabiting parents

Children of cohabiting parents have the same succession and maintenance rights as children born to married parents.

Mothers
An unmarried mother has automatic guardianship and custody rights in respect of her child.

Fathers
An unmarried father does not have automatic legal rights in relation to his child. This applies even where the father has his name on his child’s birth certificate. See unmarried ‘fathers’. However, a father who is cohabiting with the mother continuously for twelve months and at least three of these months are after the birth of the child, will automatically be the guardian of his child. The three months period does not have to take place directly after the birth of the child. It can be fulfilled any time before the child turns 18 provided that it is part of the twelve consecutive months during which the parents have lived together. The cohabitation period can only be calculated going forward from the commencement date of the relevant section of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015, 18th January 2016. This means that guardianship will only be acquired automatically where the parents live together for at least twelve months after the 18th of January 2016.

See here for more about Guardianship.

Cohabiting Couple’s Redress Scheme

The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 came into effect on 1st January 2011. This Act introduced rights and obligations for qualified cohabitants under the Redress Scheme. The Redress Scheme is a legal safety net for ‘qualified cohabitants’ in long-term relationships who may otherwise be very vulnerable financially at the end of their relationship. The Redress Scheme only applies to cohabitants whose relationship ends on or after 1st January 2011. The court can order any and all of the following as compensation: 1) a maintenance order (different and separate from a child maintenance order) 2) property adjustment order and/ or 3) a pension adjustment order after a relationship breakdown or from the estate of a deceased cohabitant. Generally, you must apply for the Cohabiting Couple’s Redress Scheme in the Circuit Court within 2 years of the relationship ending. When attending the Circuit Court, it is advised to have legal representation. Couples who want to protect their financial interests and do not plan to marry can draw up a cohabitation agreement. It is a voluntary, signed agreement and can cover the day-to-day costs but also how assets will be separated in case of the relationship ending. It can also include a provision to say that the redress scheme does not apply, though this can be overruled by a judge in exceptional circumstances. It will be valid in court only if 1) it is signed 2) it is a contract 3) both parties have secured independent legal advice.

Who is a qualified cohabitant?

The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 came into effect on 1^st January 2011. This Act introduced rights and obligations for qualified cohabitants under the Redress Scheme.

You are a qualified cohabitant if you have been cohabiting:

for at least 5 years,
or 2 years if you have a child with your partner, and are financially dependent on the other cohabitant. Where one of the cohabitants is still married, neither of the cohabitants will be considered a qualified cohabitant unless the married cohabitant has lived apart from his/her spouse for at least 4 of the previous 5 years.

Maintenance

For cohabitants
If a cohabiting relationship comes to an end, neither cohabitant has a responsibility to provide financially in respect of each other. However, if you are a qualified cohabitant and can show the court at the end of your relationship that you are financially dependent on your ex-partner you can apply for a Compensatory Maintenance Order, which is an order for regular maintenance or a lump sum. Payments will be dated from the date of application. The court may at the same time make an Attachment of Earnings Order which would mean that the maintenance payments are deducted from your ex-partner’s earnings. The maximum amount of maintenance you can get in the District Court is €500 per week. You can apply to the Circuit Court for a higher amount. The court order will no longer apply if the qualified cohabitant, in whose favour the maintenance is paid, goes on to marry.

For children
Both parents have a responsibility to provide financially for their child up to the child’s 18^thbirthday or up to age 23 if the child is in full-time education. Where maintenance is not being paid, either parent may apply to the court for a maintenance order against the other parent in respect of a dependent child.

Where a parent or a person who has the day-to-day care of a child (i.e. in loco parentis) is in a cohabiting relationship and that relationship comes to an end, he/she can seek maintenance for the child (through the court) from his/her former cohabitant. This applies where the former cohabitant

is not the parent, and
is a guardian

If ordered to pay maintenance the order will remain in place up until the child’s 18^thbirthday.

NOTE: It is also possible for a person who is not the parent but is a guardian and has the day-to-day care of the child to seek maintenance from the parent or person who was in loco parentis.

See section on maintenance.

Private Pensions & Life Insurance

Check you or your cohabiting partner’s pension scheme to see if cohabitants are included on the policy or if not, if it is possible to change that so a cohabitant can be named as a beneficiary. Cohabiting couples are treated as strangers for Inheritance and Gift Tax purposes. The stranger threshold for Inheritance Tax is currently €20,000. Inheritances of more than €20,000 are subject to tax at 33%.

Taxes for Cohabitants

Cohabitants cannot claim income tax relief in respect of each other. 2. Cohabiting partners do not have automatic inheritance rights from each other. Cohabiting partners pay tax at 33% on gifts/inheritance over €16,250. Children of cohabiting parents have the same succession rights as children born to married parents, i.e. they can receive gifts and inheritance from a parent up to a maximum of €400,000 tax free. If you are a qualified cohabitant you can apply for provision from the net estate of the deceased within six months after the probate or administration is first granted. It is not necessary to show financial dependence if your partner dies during the relationship. An order under this section shall not affect the legal rights of a surviving spouse or civil partner. Principal Residence Relief allows an individual to receive a gift or inheritance of a residential property free from capital acquisitions tax (CAT), popularly known as inheritance tax or gift tax, if the following conditions are met:

the premises is the beneficiary’s principal private residence for three years prior to the gift or inheritance.
The individual has no beneficial interest in any other residential property in the State.
The individual remains living in the property for six years after the gift or inheritance. This does not apply if you are over 55 years of age.

The Family Home and Property for Cohabiting Couples

The Family Home Protection Act 1976 applies to married families only, not cohabiting couples. If only one of the cohabitants owns the property, even if it is being used as a family home, they can sell the property without the consent of the other partner. If a cohabiting couple is planning to purchase a property together, they should check with a solicitor if they should opt for a Joint Tenancy or a Tenancy in Common ownership option. Joint Tenancy means that both cohabitants own the property in equal shares. The partners do not have to be paying the same amount. Neither of you can sell or rent the property without the other’s consent. If one partner dies, the other partner will automatically own all the property, regardless of the deceased partner’s will. The surviving cohabitant may to pay Capital Acquisitions Tax. Tenancy in Common means that each cohabitant owns a defined share of the property. For example, one partner owns 40% and the other partner owns 60%. Each person can leave their share of the property to whoever they wish (including their partner), but they must make a will stating this.

Social Welfare

Cohabitants (both same-sex and opposite-sex) are treated in the same way as married families for social welfare purposes. Both incomes will be taken into account when assessing income for the means test.

Income Tax

Cohabitants cannot claim income tax relief in respect of each other.

Qualified Informant

A cohabitant is a qualified informant for the purposes of signing the register in relation to the death of their cohabiting partner.

Domestic Violence

A cohabitant can apply for a safety order, a barring order or an interim barring order and/or a protection order.

A safety order prohibits the violent person from further acts of violence or threats of violence. It does not oblige that person to leave the family home.

To apply for a barring order/interim barring order you must have been living together for 9 of the previous 12 months. A barring order requires the violent person to leave the family home unless that person owns the family home in full or has greater rights than you to the home.

You can get a protection order immediately while you are waiting for the court to decide on your application for either a safety or a barring order. A protection order does not require the violent person to leave the home.

Bereaved Partner’s Pension

Since July 2025, the Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) & (Non-Contributory) Pension (previously the Widow/ Widower’s/ Surviving Civil Partner Pension) and Bereaved Parent Grant (previously Widowed or Surviving Civil Partner’s Grant) have been extended to cohabiting couples. You can only apply for the Bereaved Parent Grant via post but you can print out the application form from the Department of Social Protection’s website. It is not necessary to apply for the Bereaved Parent Grant if you have applied for the Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) Pension.

Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) Pension

The Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) Pension is a weekly payment to the partner of a deceased person. If your partner died before July 2025, you may still qualify. A partner can be a husband, wife, civil partner or cohabitant. To qualify for the Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) Pension, a cohabitating couple must be living together for a continuous period of at least 5 years (or 2 years if you have dependent children together). You can get Child Support Payments (previously called Increases for Qualified Children) with your pension – these remain payable while the child is aged under 18 and they may continue to be paid until age 22 if the child is in fulltime education. You can earn from other sources and get the Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) Pension. The payment is not means tested but is taxed.

To qualify for the Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) Pension either you or your partner must have enough social insurance contributions (PRSI). The required number of PRSI contributions are:

• At least 260 paid contributions paid before the relevant date* And

• An average of 39 paid or credited contributions in either the 3 or 5 years before the death of your partner or before they reached pension age (66) Or

• A yearly average of at least 24 paid or credited contributions from the year of first entry into insurance until the year of death or reaching pension age. If this average is used then an average of 24 will entitle you to a minimum pension, you will need an average of 48 per year to get the full pension. *The relevant date is the earliest of the following dates:

• The date your partner died

• The date of the insured person’s 66th birthday (the social insurance record used to qualify)

• If the insured person was born on or after 1 January 1958, the date when the last qualifying or voluntary contribution was paid (if after their 66th birthday, but before the date of death) 10 Backdated payments for cohabitants and the (Contributory) Pension If your partner died before 22 January 2024 and you qualify for the Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) Pension, your payment will be backdated to 22 January 2024.

If your partner died on or after 22 January 2024 and you are eligible for the Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) Pension, it will be backdated to the date of death. You have 6 months from 21 July 2025 to apply and get the payment backdated to the 22 January 2024 or date of death, if later. If the application is not made within this period, then the maximum backdating of the payment will be 6 months from the date of your application.

Bereaved Partner’s Non-Contributory Pension

The Bereaved Partner’s Non-Contributory pension is a payment for surviving partners who 1) do not have any dependent children 2) and you are not eligible for the (Contributory) pension. People with dependent children should apply for the One-Parent Family Payment or Jobseeker’s Transitional payment. It is a means-tested payment and is taxable. A cohabitant will only qualify for the Bereaved Partner’s (Non-Contributory) Pension if their partner’s death occurred on or after 21 July 2025.

To qualify:

• You must be a spouse, civil partner, or cohabitant of the deceased. If you are a cohabitant, must have been living with them for at least 5 years.

• You must be habitually resident in Ireland

• You must pass a means test 11

• You must be under aged 66 (after that you can apply for the State Non-Contributory Pension) Exclusions from the Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) & (Non-Contributory) Pension: If you are not living with your partner or have not been in an intimate and committed relationship for the 2 years before their death, you will not be eligible for the contributory pension. If you marry or begin to cohabit with someone else, you will not be eligible for the pension anymore.

Bereaved Parent Grant

The Bereaved Parent Grant is a once-off payment of €8,000 to widows, widowers, surviving civil partners and surviving cohabitants with dependent children. You can also qualify if you have a child born within 10 months of the death of your spouse or partner. Surviving cohabitants will only qualify for the Bereaved Parent Grant if their partner’s death occurred on or after 21 July 2025. To get the Bereaved Parent Grant you must be:

• A widow, widower, surviving civil partner or surviving cohabitant with dependent children.

Dependent children are A) under 18 or under 22 and in full time education in a recognised school B) Normally resident in the state C) living with you.

• in receipt of one of the following social welfare payments: One-Parent Family Payment, Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) Pension, State Pension (Contributory and Non-Contributory) or the Death Benefit (under the Occupational Injuries Scheme).

Useful addresses

Treoir
Federation of services for unmarried parents and their children
Tel: 01 670 0120, info@treoir.ie | www.treoir.ie

The Legal Aid Board
Locall: 0818 615 200, Tel: 066 947 1000, info@legalaidboard.ie | www.legalaidboard.ie

Free Legal Advice Centres
Tel: 01-906 1010| www.flac.ie

Cohabitants – New legal rights and obligations for opposite and same-sex couples

The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 introduced rights and obligations for cohabiting couples, whether opposite or same-sex. This publication gives answers to the following questions:

Who are cohabitants?
Who are qualified cohabitants?
What is the Redress Scheme?
What can I, as a qualified cohabitant, apply for under the redress scheme?
What does the court take into account before making these orders?
Do we both have to live in Ireland to apply for any of these orders?
Is there a time limit within which I must apply for these orders?
What are cohabitants’ agreements?

NOTE: Treoir 2026

While every effort has been made to ensure that the information on this webpage is accurate, no responsibility can be accepted by Treoir for any errors or omission