Property division of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia

There is no statutory framework to protect the property interests of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia at the present time. Many couples engaged in unmarried cohabitation encounter issues relating to the division of property when a relationship breaks down, for example, because of separation or deat...

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Main Author:	Buvanis Karuppiah
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2017
Online Access:	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/12988/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/12988/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/12988/1/26277-79262-1-PB.pdf

id	ukm-12988
recordtype	eprints
spelling	ukm-129882019-05-18T06:06:58Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/12988/ Property division of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia Buvanis Karuppiah, There is no statutory framework to protect the property interests of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia at the present time. Many couples engaged in unmarried cohabitation encounter issues relating to the division of property when a relationship breaks down, for example, because of separation or death. A cohabitant who has contributed to a lesser financial degree, but who has made significant non-financial contributions is often economically disadvantaged when the relationship ends. Whilst the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 applies to married couples in the division of matrimonial property that takes into account both financial and non-financial contributions, this statutory right is not extended to unmarried cohabitants. For cohabitants, the common law principles of resulting and constructive trusts apply. The courts adopt a “functional approach” in recognising the relationship and the manner of dividing the property. Even though case law recognises unmarried cohabitation and their rights to the division of property, a statutory recognition is essential to provide a clearer guideline that would encourage consistent judicial outcome. This would protect the interests of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2017 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/12988/1/26277-79262-1-PB.pdf Buvanis Karuppiah, (2017) Property division of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia. Jurnal Undang-Undang dan Masyarakat, 21 . pp. 15-26. ISSN 1394-7729 http://ejournal.ukm.my/juum/issue/view/1100
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia
building	UKM Institutional Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
description	There is no statutory framework to protect the property interests of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia at the present time. Many couples engaged in unmarried cohabitation encounter issues relating to the division of property when a relationship breaks down, for example, because of separation or death. A cohabitant who has contributed to a lesser financial degree, but who has made significant non-financial contributions is often economically disadvantaged when the relationship ends. Whilst the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 applies to married couples in the division of matrimonial property that takes into account both financial and non-financial contributions, this statutory right is not extended to unmarried cohabitants. For cohabitants, the common law principles of resulting and constructive trusts apply. The courts adopt a “functional approach” in recognising the relationship and the manner of dividing the property. Even though case law recognises unmarried cohabitation and their rights to the division of property, a statutory recognition is essential to provide a clearer guideline that would encourage consistent judicial outcome. This would protect the interests of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia.
format	Article
author	Buvanis Karuppiah,
spellingShingle	Buvanis Karuppiah, Property division of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia
author_facet	Buvanis Karuppiah,
author_sort	Buvanis Karuppiah,
title	Property division of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia
title_short	Property division of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia
title_full	Property division of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia
title_fullStr	Property division of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed	Property division of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia
title_sort	property division of unmarried cohabitants in malaysia
publisher	Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate	2017
url	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/12988/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/12988/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/12988/1/26277-79262-1-PB.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T20:03:50Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T20:03:50Z
_version_	1777407026264014848

Property division of unmarried cohabitants in Malaysia

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