Distribute our regional press release during Awareness Week 2023

On this page you’ll find a template press release you can use to raise awareness of our Vision for Family Justice.

We’re asking our members to contact your local news outlets by sharing our regional press release.

Personalise the sections in BOLD and feel free to tailor the press release further if you like. However, we ask that you do not alter Grant Cameron’s quote.

You can send the release to existing media contacts, or by Googling your local newspaper, TV or radio station. Their email and telephone number will usually be available on their website and in copies of your local newspaper.

Copy and paste the final release into the body of an email and attach any photos to the email of your selected spokesperson. You can also download our Vision for Family Justice and attach it to your email.

If you’d like to follow up, you can ring or email the day after sending the release to find out if they need any additional information on the story you sent through.

Good luck, and please let us know if you get any media coverage.

Download in Word

Embargoed: for release Monday November 27

LOCAL RESOLUTION MEMBER[S] CALLS/CALL FOR MORE RIGHTS FOR UNMARRIED COUPLES

  • Change in the law receives overwhelming backing in national poll
  • Cohabiting couples in [town/area] at significant risk if relationship ends
  • Call for change in the law forms centrepiece of Resolution’s Vision for Family Justice as it marks 40th anniversary

Local members of the family justice body Resolution have welcomed new research which shows most people back a change in the law to give cohabiting people more rights.

Currently, cohabiting couples have few or no rights in the event of a relationship breakdown meaning that unlike married couples there is no mechanism for splitting assets. This is despite a huge growth in the number of couples and families that cohabit rather than marry.

A nationwide poll carried out by Whitestone Insight on behalf of Resolution found around half of cohabitees are unaware that they lack rights should they split up.

  • 59% of people polled back better legal protections for cohabiting people.
  • 74% of cohabitees agree that ‘the current laws surrounding cohabitation are unfit for today’s modern society’
  • 75% of Resolution members surveyed said they support a change in the law to provide basic rights to cohabiting couples

Asked about their concerns in the event of a relationship ending, 35% said they feared having nowhere to live – if a property is in one partner’s name the other partner has no automatic claim on it in the event of a break up. One in three said they feared significant financial hardship.

According to House of Commons Library research 1.5 million couples cohabited in 1996 but that figure increased by 144% over the following 25 years to 3.6 million in 2021. According to the recent Resolution polling 83% of respondents believe that cohabiting will become even more popular in future.

[Spokesperson’s name], a [family lawyer/financial adviser/family therapist/insert profession type] in [town/area], said, “Today’s research demonstrates the urgent need for greater legal protection. Many cohabitees believe they are protected by ‘common-law marriage’ – but this is a myth and, sadly, they only discover this once it is too late.

“That’s why I’m joining Resolution’s call for a change in the law to ensure cohabiting couples in [town/area] and elsewhere are not left in dire financial straits should their relationship come to an end.”

The call comes as Resolution launches its Vision for Family Justice in Parliament this week, highlighting a number of areas where reform is needed in order to better help families who are facing separation or divorce.

Grant Cameron, National Chair of Resolution, said, “It’s great to have so much support across the country for our call for change from people like [first name]. For 40 years, Resolution has been campaigning for reforms which help couples who separate to do so more amicably and constructively – which is why cohabitation reform is front and centre of our Vision for Family Justice.

“The shape of families across England and Wales is changing – and our laws need to keep up.”

The Vision for Family Justice can be found here.

NOTES FOR EDITORS
For more information or to speak with a Resolution representative please contact –
[INSERT NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS AND MOBILE NUMBER IF POSSIBLE]