Why you should make a will to protect girlfriends and concubines

Marilyn Monroe may have had a point when she sang "Diamonds are a girl's best friend". That's because, legally, there is little protection for "girlfriends" in Hong Kong, so holding valuable assets could be the way forward. Let's not deny it; there are plenty of girlfriend relationships, which are not legally formalised or recognised in Hong Kong.

Prior to 1971, concubines, or individuals party to a Kim Tiu marriage, where a man could formally marry more than one principal wife and maintain a household for her, were legally recognised. After the passing of the Marriage Reform Ordinance in 1971, the formality of these relations was outlawed.

There is no such thing as financial legal protection for the "common-law wife", which is a misnomer. Individuals will only have rights to such provision on the breakdown of a relationship if the parties were married.

Even where parties have been living together as husband and wife, without formalising the relationship by registering their marriage, the protection for the financially weaker party will be confined to provision for their children, if any, and not for him/herself.

In a relationship akin to marriage, where there are children, the party who is looking after the children may be entitled to a carer's allowance, which will cover her living expenses while she cannot work because she has the children to care for. If the couple has joint property, then the usual contractual or property law will apply in respect of their share of individual assets.

But what if the relationship is not one of the increasingly common settled cohabitation between parties, but one of a dependency which may have arisen as a result of an affair?

It may be that the girlfriend has become financially dependent on the wealthy party who has found accommodation for her, paid her a monthly allowance, lavished gifts on her and promised her various lump sums and long-term security.