Most people cannot access free legal advice about family issues anymore, but there are some charities that offer free or low cost advice. We explain where to look to see if you can. Getting advice will help you ensure that you are doing the right thing or taking the best route, and will also help reduce stress and unnecessary conflict with your ex or your child's other parent.

This information applies to England and Wales.

If you have a legal problem, you may be able to get help to pay for legal advice. Here we explain what help you may be able to get if you have a family problem – that’s a problem to do with things like domestic abuse, sorting out who your children are going to live with if you separate or how often you’ll see them, dividing any money and property, getting a divorce, or ending a civil partnership. It will help you understand what legal aid is, when it is available and who can get it.

This information applies to England and Wales.

This short film looks at how to represent yourself in court about a family problem if you do not have a lawyer. It deals with the things you may be worrying about and shows you simple tips that will help you put your side as well as you can.

This information applies to England and Wales.

If you are thinking about living with a partner there are some important things to be aware of from the start. The main thing to know is that it doesn’t matter how long you live with your partner, you don’t have the rights of a married couple or a couple in a civil partnership. There is no such thing as a common law marriage in England and Wales. We explain what rights couples living together really have, and show you practical ways you can protect yourself and your partner. This information will be helpful if you are thinking about living with your partner, if you have just moved in together or  if you have been living together for ages but have never really thought about your rights.

This information applies to England and Wales.

Understand how family mediation could help you if you  have or are separating or divorcing and are struggling to agree on what is going to happen to your home, money, children or other family issues. It doesn’t matter if you were married, in a civil partnership, living together, or never did any of these things. 

The information in this guide applies in England and Wales.

Living together but not married or in a civil partnership

It doesn't matter how long you live together, cohabiting couples get hardly any rights automatically. Despite popular belief, there is no such thing as a common law marriage in England and Wales. 

But there are things you can do to give each other rights and protect each other, whatever the future may hold.

If you are taking someone to court over money you need to make sure that they can pay you if you win. Understand the things you can do to check before you go to all the bother and expense of starting legal proceedings. This guide is part of series about taking someone to the civil court to sort out a problem or disagreement. It will help for any kind of money claim case about a broken contract (often called 'breach of contract'), money owed, compensation, and personal injury, including if you were hurt in a road traffic accident.

When you moved in with your partner, you may not have thought about the legal details for long. But if you’re not married or in a civil partnership, the choice you made about who does or doesn’t own the home could make a huge difference if you split up or if one of you dies, and could put you at a real disadvantage.

Information applies to England and Wales.

Understand what you need to think about and what the law says about your rights if you are separating from a partner you live with (but were not married or in a civil partnership with). This guide will be helpful if you are still living together after a break up or if one of you has moved out. It will help you to find ways of agreeing arrangements with your ex, remind you who you need to tell, and explain how to find the help you might need to plan for the future.

Information applies to England and Wales.

Understand what evidence you will need if you are taking someone to court, why you need it, and what you need to do with it. This guide is part of series about taking someone to the civil court to sort out a problem or disagreement. 

You can make a civil claim about money owed, broken contracts (often called ‘a breach of contract’), compensation, and personal injury - including road traffic accidents and workers compensation. You might take someone to the small claims court, or use the fast-track process in a county court.

The information in this guide applies to England and Wales only.