{"id":11550,"date":"2022-04-25T19:39:24","date_gmt":"2022-04-25T19:39:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legalblog.ie\/?p=11550"},"modified":"2024-03-13T20:42:51","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T20:42:51","slug":"cohabitants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/","title":{"rendered":"Cohabitants"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/#Background\" title=\"Background\">Background<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/#2010_Legislation\" title=\"2010 Legislation\">2010 Legislation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/#Qualifying_Cohabitants\" title=\"Qualifying Cohabitants\">Qualifying Cohabitants<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/#Factors_for_Qualification\" title=\"Factors for Qualification\">Factors for Qualification<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/#Indicative_Circumstances\" title=\"Indicative Circumstances\">Indicative Circumstances<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/#Dependent_Children\" title=\"Dependent Children\">Dependent Children<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/#Agreement_in_Place\" title=\"Agreement in Place\">Agreement in Place<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/#Opted-Out_or_Non-Qualification\" title=\"Opted-Out or Non-Qualification\">Opted-Out or Non-Qualification<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/#Court_Application_Right\" title=\"Court Application Right\">Court Application Right<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/2\/#CIVIL_PARTNERSHIP_AND_CERTAIN_RIGHTS_AND_OBLIGATIONS_OF_COHABITANTS_ACT_2010\" title=\"\nCIVIL PARTNERSHIP AND CERTAIN RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF COHABITANTS ACT 2010\">\nCIVIL PARTNERSHIP AND CERTAIN RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF COHABITANTS ACT 2010<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/2\/#Definitions\" title=\"Definitions.\">Definitions.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/2\/#Cohabitant_and_qualified_cohabitant\" title=\"Cohabitant and qualified cohabitant.\">Cohabitant and qualified cohabitant.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/2\/#Validity_of_certain_agreements_between_cohabitants\" title=\"Validity of certain agreements between cohabitants.\">Validity of certain agreements between cohabitants.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/2\/#Amendment_of_section_39_of_Residential_Tenancies_Act_2004\" title=\"Amendment of section 39 of Residential Tenancies Act 2004.\">Amendment of section 39 of Residential Tenancies Act 2004.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/2\/#Amendment_of_section_47_of_Civil_Liability_Act_1961\" title=\"Amendment of section 47 of Civil Liability Act 1961.\">Amendment of section 47 of Civil Liability Act 1961.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/2\/#Amendment_of_Powers_of_Attorney_Act_1996\" title=\"Amendment of Powers of Attorney Act 1996.\">Amendment of Powers of Attorney Act 1996.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/2\/#Transitional_provision_%E2%80%93_redress_orders\" title=\"Transitional provision &#8211; redress orders.\">Transitional provision &#8211; redress orders.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/cohabitants\/2\/#Saver_in_relation_to_rights_of_others\" title=\"Saver in relation to rights of others.\">Saver in relation to rights of others.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Background\"><\/span>Background<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Until 2010 cohabitation in a medium to long-term relationship had no status under Irish laws. Unless the parties in the relationship were married, they enjoyed no succession, maintenance or property rights other than those that would arise between unrelated strangers.<\/p>\n<p>The law does not recognise common law relationships. The position applied to same-sex couples and couples of the opposite sex.<\/p>\n<p>The Constitution&#8217;s protection of the status of marriage was not extended to such persons. On the contrary, the courts held that the failure to give equivalence status to such couples was justifiable under the Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>In the first decade of this century, the European Court of Human Rights held in a number of cases that the failure to accord same-sex couples at least some of the key rights of equivalent heterosexual couples who are married constituted a breach of the Convention.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2010_Legislation\"><\/span>2010 Legislation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In parallel with the introduction of the civil partnership legislation, a much more modest scheme of protections was introduced for cohabitants. This is potentially controversial as it may impose a particular regime on parties who may, to some extent, have opted out of by choosing not to marry (or become civil partners) where this is an option.<\/p>\n<p>The purpose of the cohabitation legislation is to make provisions for cohabitants who are financially dependent. It provides for applications for maintenance, property and pension adjustment orders and provision from the estate of a deceased cohabitant. The application must be commenced within two years of the termination of the relationship.<\/p>\n<p>The legislation does not create automatic rights. It is not intended to redistribute property or assets in the same way as judicial separation or divorce or their equivalent in civil partnerships. It is meant to provide relief in cases of financial dependency.<\/p>\n<p>Couples may elect to enter their own legally enforceable agreement as an alternative to the regime provided by the legislation. Cohabitation agreements are specifically allowed to regulate the joint property and financial affairs of couples who cohabit.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Qualifying_Cohabitants\"><\/span>Qualifying Cohabitants<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Cohabitants\u2019 rights under the 2010 legislation only apply to relationships that end after the legislation commences.\u00a0 The person who alleges a cohabitant relationship bears the onus of proving that it existed.<\/p>\n<p>A cohabitant is one of two adults who live together as a couple in an intimate and committed relationship who are: not related to each other, not within the prohibited degrees of relationship for marriage and not civil partners.<\/p>\n<p>A qualified cohabitant is one who has lived together for at least five years, or a period of two years where there are dependent children of the relationship. The five-year period must be immediately before the time the relationship ends. The relationship may end by reason of death or separation.<\/p>\n<p>When one cohabitant is married, the qualification does not arise until the married cohabitant has lived apart from his or her spouse for four of the five preceding years.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Factors_for_Qualification\"><\/span>Factors for Qualification<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The matter of whether there is or was a cohabitation relationship is one that may only be determined by the courts after the event of an application by a cohabitant. The court has regard to a number of factors, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the duration of the relationship<\/li>\n<li>whether there are dependent children<\/li>\n<li>whether one of the adults cares for and supports the children<\/li>\n<li>the degree to which the adults present themselves as a couple to others<\/li>\n<li>the basis on which they live together<\/li>\n<li>the degree of financial dependence of either adult on the other<\/li>\n<li>any agreement in respect of finances<\/li>\n<li>nature of financial arrangements, including joint purchase of land, acquisition of property, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>An interruption in the period of cohabitation will break continuity. If, however, it is temporary, the parties may be deemed to be continuing to cohabit.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Indicative_Circumstances\"><\/span>Indicative Circumstances<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Cohabitation requires the court to find a quasi-marriage arrangement. It is not enough that parties simply live together as housemates or even as boyfriend and girlfriend. There must be a shared domestic relationship.<\/p>\n<p>The court will consider the extent to which the parties hold themselves as a couple. There may, however, be legitimate reasons why the parties may not hold themselves out as such, such as social consequences.<\/p>\n<p>There must be a degree of sexual intimacy. A platonic relationship is unlikely to be enough. However, the fact that sexual relations have ceased does not mean that cohabiting has ceased.<\/p>\n<p>The claimant partner must show that he or she was being maintained by the other partner before the break up.\u00a0 Dependence will usually arise because one party has given up work to look after dependents or has otherwise incurred a disadvantage as a result of cohabitation.\u00a0 It may be a loss of career, pension entitlement, seniority, or accrual of rights or a position in work.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dependent_Children\"><\/span>Dependent Children<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The existence of dependent children will be a very significant factor. Dependent children are those under 18, or over 18 and under 23 in full-time education. A person who has a physical or mental disability may be dependent, irrespective of age.<\/p>\n<p>The court takes into account the extent to which cohabitants care for and support dependent children. The children concerned must be a child of whom both cohabitants are parents.<\/p>\n<p>Although there is no requirement to take into account non-dependent children, the court considers whether one cohabitant cares for the child of another. It will also consider whether parties have treated children in loco parentis.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Agreement_in_Place\"><\/span>Agreement in Place<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Parties cohabiting may enter their own agreement and opt out of the legislation. There are certain requirements for a binding agreement. The agreement might expressly or implicitly disapply the statutory scheme. It could simply disapply the scheme and provide nothing more, in which event the status of parties would be similar to that before the act passed.<\/p>\n<p>In order to be an opt-out agreement, certain conditions must be complied with. The agreements in relation to financial matters are only valid if the parties have received independent legal advice, or have received advice together and waived independent legal advice. The agreement must be signed by the parties.<\/p>\n<p>If the formalities are not complied with, the opt-out will be invalid. The court may still have regard to the terms of the arrangement in making an award under the legislation.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Opted-Out_or_Non-Qualification\"><\/span>Opted-Out or Non-Qualification<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Generally, courts cannot vary contractual agreements. For cohabiting partners that do not qualify or who opt out of the legislation, the default common law position applies.<\/p>\n<p>On separation, the cohabitants have no rights against each other\u2019s assets.\u00a0 The principles of trust law apply in relation to establishing beneficial ownership of assets. See generally other sections in this regard.<\/p>\n<p>The summary process for the resolution of property disputes between spouses is available to cohabit partners.<\/p>\n<p>The 2010 legislation does not make provisions for children of cohabitants.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Court_Application_Right\"><\/span>Court Application Right<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Where cohabitants satisfy the following conditions they may, at the end of their relationship, apply to court for certain orders:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>two adults living together<\/li>\n<li>in an intimate and committed relationship<\/li>\n<li>not within prohibited degrees relationship<\/li>\n<li>not married to each other or civil partners of each other<\/li>\n<li>financially dependent on the other partner arising from the relationship or the ending of the relationship<\/li>\n<li>living together for two or more years where they are parents of one or more dependent children or five years in other cases<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Where the above conditions apply, and one party is financially dependent on the other, the court may make orders for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>maintenance payments<\/li>\n<li>transfer of property<\/li>\n<li>sharing pension<\/li>\n<li>share in the other party&#8217;s estate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The applications must be made within three years of the end of the relationship. This time limit does not apply in certain circumstances where there are ongoing payments or a cohabitation agreement.<\/p>\n<p>A qualified cohabitant can seek an order for provision out of the deceased cohabitant\u2019s estate. This cannot exceed what a spouse or a civil partner may have been entitled to as a legal right share or on intestacy. This cannot affect the legal right share of a spouse.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>\nCIVIL PARTNERSHIP AND CERTAIN RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF COHABITANTS ACT 2010<\/h2>\n<p>PART 15<\/p>\n<p>Cohabitants<\/p>\n<p>Annotations<\/p>\n<p>Editorial Notes:<\/p>\n<p>E31<br \/>\nCertain gifts or inheritances taken by virtue or in consequence of order made under Part confirmed exempt from capital acquisitions tax by Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 (1\/2003), s. 88A, as inserted (1.01.2011) by Finance (No. 3) Act 2011 (18\/2011), s. 3 and sch. 3 item 21, commenced as per s. 5(8)(e); and as amended (31.03.2012) by Finance Act 2012 (9\/2012), s. 107 and sch. 3 item 31, commenced on enactment.<\/p>\n<h4>Definitions.<\/h4>\n<p>171.\u2014 In this Part\u2014<\/p>\n<p>\u201ccohabitant\u201d has the meaning assigned to it in section 172;<\/p>\n<p>\u201ccourt\u201d means the High Court, the Circuit Court or the District Court;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cdependent child\u201d, in relation to a cohabitant or a couple of cohabitants, means any child of whom both the cohabitants are the parents and who is\u2014<\/p>\n<p>(a) under the age of 18 years, or<\/p>\n<p>(b) 18 years of age or over and is\u2014<\/p>\n<p>(i) receiving full-time education or instruction at any university, college, school or other educational establishment and is under the age of 23 years, or<\/p>\n<p>(ii) incapable of taking care of his or her own needs because of a mental or physical disability.<\/p>\n<h4>Cohabitant and qualified cohabitant.<\/h4>\n<p>172.\u2014 (1) For the purposes of this Part, a cohabitant is one of 2 adults (whether of the same or the opposite sex) who live together as a couple in an intimate and committed relationship and who are not related to each other within the prohibited degrees of relationship or married to each other or civil partners of each other.<\/p>\n<p>(2) In determining whether or not 2 adults are cohabitants, the court shall take into account all the circumstances of the relationship and in particular shall have regard to the following:<\/p>\n<p>(a) the duration of the relationship;<\/p>\n<p>(b) the basis on which the couple live together;<\/p>\n<p>(c) the degree of financial dependence of either adult on the other and any agreements in respect of their finances;<\/p>\n<p>(d) the degree and nature of any financial arrangements between the adults including any joint purchase of an estate or interest in land or joint acquisition of personal property;<\/p>\n<p>(e) whether there are one or more dependent children;<\/p>\n<p>(f) whether one of the adults cares for and supports the children of the other; and<\/p>\n<p>(g) the degree to which the adults present themselves to others as a couple.<\/p>\n<p>(3) For the avoidance of doubt a relationship does not cease to be an intimate relationship for the purpose of this section merely because it is no longer sexual in nature.<\/p>\n<p>(4) For the purposes of this section, 2 adults are within a prohibited degree of relationship if\u2014<\/p>\n<p>(a) they would be prohibited from marrying each other in the State, or<\/p>\n<p>(b) they are in a relationship referred to in the Third Schedule to the Civil Registration Act 2004 inserted by section 26 of this Act.<\/p>\n<p>(5) For the purposes of this Part, a qualified cohabitant means an adult who was in a relationship of cohabitation with another adult and who, immediately before the time that that relationship ended, whether through death or otherwise, was living with the other adult as a couple for a period\u2014<\/p>\n<p>(a) of 2 years or more, in the case where they are the parents of one or more dependent children, and<\/p>\n<p>(b) of 5 years or more, in any other case.<\/p>\n<p>(6) Notwithstanding subsection (5), F70[where the relationship concerned ends before the coming into operation of section 4(2) of the Family Law Act 2019, an adult who] would otherwise be a qualified cohabitant is not a qualified cohabitant if\u2014<\/p>\n<p>(a) one or both of the adults is or was, at any time during the relationship concerned, an adult who was married to someone else, and<\/p>\n<p>(b) at the time the relationship concerned ends, each adult who is or was married has not F70[lived apart (which term shall, in this section, be construed in accordance with section 5(1A) of the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996)] from his or her spouse for a period or periods of at least 4 years during the previous 5 years.<\/p>\n<p>Annotations<\/p>\n<p>Amendments:<\/p>\n<p>F70<br \/>\nSubstituted (1.12.2019) by Family Law Act 2019 (37\/2019), s. 4(2)(a), (b), S.I. No. 585 of 2019.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Validity of certain agreements between cohabitants.<\/h4>\n<p>202.\u2014 (1) Notwithstanding any enactment or rule of law, cohabitants may enter into a cohabitants\u2019 agreement to provide for financial matters during the relationship or when the relationship ends, whether through death or otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>(2) A cohabitants\u2019 agreement is valid only if\u2014<\/p>\n<p>(a) the cohabitants\u2014<\/p>\n<p>(i) have each received independent legal advice before entering into it, or<\/p>\n<p>(ii) have received legal advice together and have waived in writing the right to independent legal advice,<\/p>\n<p>(b) the agreement is in writing and signed by both cohabitants, and<\/p>\n<p>(c) the general law of contract is complied with.<\/p>\n<p>(3) Subject to subsection (4), a cohabitants\u2019 agreement may provide that neither cohabitant may apply for an order for redress referred to in section 173, or an order for provision from the estate of his or her cohabitant under section 194.<\/p>\n<p>(4) The court may vary or set aside a cohabitants\u2019 agreement in exceptional circumstances, where its enforceability would cause serious injustice.<\/p>\n<p>(5) An agreement that meets the other criteria of this section shall be deemed to be a cohabitants\u2019 agreement under this section even if entered into before the cohabitation has commenced.<\/p>\n<h4>Amendment of section 39 of Residential Tenancies Act 2004.<\/h4>\n<p>203.\u2014 Section 39(3)(a)(ii) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 is amended by substituting \u201cwas the tenant\u2019s cohabitant within the meaning of section 172 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 and lived with the tenant\u201d for \u201ccohabited with the tenant as husband and wife\u201d.<\/p>\n<h4>Amendment of section 47 of Civil Liability Act 1961.<\/h4>\n<p>204.\u2014 The definition of \u201cdependant\u201d in section 47(1) (as substituted by section 1 of the Civil Liability (Amendment) Act 1996) of the Civil Liability Act 1961 is amended by substituting the following for paragraph (c):<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(c) a person who was not married to or a civil partner of the deceased but who, until the date of the deceased\u2019s death, had been living with the deceased as the deceased\u2019s cohabitant within the meaning of section 172 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 for a continuous period of not less than three years,\u201d.<\/p>\n<h4>Amendment of Powers of Attorney Act 1996.<\/h4>\n<p>205.\u2014 Paragraph 3(1) of the First Schedule of the Powers of Attorney Act 1996 is amended\u2014<\/p>\n<p>(a) in subparagraph (h) by substituting \u201cblood;\u201d for \u201cblood.\u201d, and<\/p>\n<p>(b) by inserting the following:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(i) the donor\u2019s qualified cohabitant, within the meaning of section 172 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010.\u201d.<\/p>\n<h4>Transitional provision &#8211; redress orders.<\/h4>\n<p>206.\u2014 An order for redress referred to in section 173 shall only be made if the application for it is made with respect to a relationship that ends, whether by death or otherwise, after the commencement of this section but the time during which two persons lived as a couple before the commencement date is included for the purposes of calculating whether they are qualified cohabitants within the meaning of this Part.<\/p>\n<p>Transitional provision &#8211; agreements.<\/p>\n<p>207.\u2014 Nothing in section 202(2) prevents a court from enforcing an agreement entered into between two persons before the commencement of this Part.<\/p>\n<p>PART 16<\/p>\n<p>Miscellaneous<\/p>\n<h4>Saver in relation to rights of others.<\/h4>\n<p>208.\u2014 In making an order under this Act and in particular in making a maintenance order, lump sum order, property adjustment order, pension adjustment order or order for provision from the estate of a deceased person, the court shall have regard to the rights of any other person with an interest in the matter, including a spouse or former spouse and a civil partner or former civil partner.<\/p>\n<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-11550\" data-postid=\"11550\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-11550 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    <\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Background Until 2010 cohabitation in a medium to long-term relationship had no status under Irish laws. Unless the parties in the relationship were married, they enjoyed no succession, maintenance or property rights other than those that would arise between unrelated strangers. The law does not recognise common law relationships. The position applied to same-sex couples [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11550"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11550"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32984,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11550\/revisions\/32984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}