Couples who do not have sex can be considered cohabitants

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The case that has been dealt with in the Swedish judiciary concerns two women who lived together and had joint finances. Some in their circle saw them as friends, others as a couple.

When one woman died, a dispute arose between the other woman and the first woman’s surviving family over who was entitled to the money from the life insurance.

The parents of the dead woman emphasized that the two did not have a sexual relationship and thus could not be considered cohabitants, but a couple of friends who lived together.

The other woman, on the other hand, claimed that they had a deep emotional relationship and saw themselves as a couple and cohabitants.

The Swedish Cohabitation Act considers two people who live permanently together in a relationship and have joint finances as cohabitants. The preparatory work for the law states that it applies to people who are in a relationship that normally includes a sexual intercourse.

The Supreme Court believes that this means that it must be a relationship with such a strong emotional relationship that sexual intercourse is normal in a similar relationship, or that corresponds to the relationship between a married couple.

The woman thus won and the right to have the insurance money paid out after her deceased partner.