Moving In Together Unmarried in Germany: The Legal Gaps Couples Miss

Why this matters more than most couples realise

You found a flat, split the deposit, merged the bookshelves. As far as your daily life is concerned, you are a couple. As far as German law is concerned, you are two individuals who happen to share an address.

That gap is invisible — until the day it isn't. It surfaces in a hospital corridor, at a bank counter, in a landlord's letter, or in a probate file. And it hits binational couples hardest, because for them the same silence also reaches into residence permits and immigration.

This is a plain-language guide to the "quiet" legal gaps of moving in together unmarried in Germany: what does not automatically apply without a marriage certificate, and which official channel exists to close each gap. It is general information, not legal advice — for a binding assessment, speak to a notary (Notar) or a lawyer, and for court-appointed guardianship matters the local Betreuungsgericht is the responsible authority.

Does living together for years give us legal rights?

No. German law does not recognise "common-law marriage" or any status that arises simply from cohabitation. The term for your situation is nichteheliche Lebensgemeinschaft (non-marital partnership), and it is not a legal institution that grants rights — it is merely a description of a factual arrangement.

There is no threshold — not five years, not ten, not a shared child — that quietly upgrades you to spouse-like status. Everything married couples receive by default, unmarried couples must arrange deliberately, one instrument at a time.

Two things people often mistake for legal recognition:

• Registering the same address (Anmeldung at the Bürgeramt) proves where you live. It creates no mutual rights whatsoever.
• A registered partnership (eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaft) has, since October 2017, no longer been available to new couples in Germany; only same-sex couples who registered before then still hold that status. For everyone else, the only status the law offers is marriage.

In short: time and a shared doorbell change nothing legally.

Can I make decisions for my partner in a medical emergency?

Not automatically — this is the gap that shocks couples most. If your partner is unconscious after an accident, you have no legal right to be informed of their condition or to consent to treatment on their behalf.

Since 1 January 2023, § 1358 BGB grants spouses a limited emergency representation right (Ehegattennotvertretungsrecht): for up to six months, one spouse may make health-care decisions and receive medical information when the other cannot. Crucially, this right applies only to married couples and registered partners living together. Unmarried partners are explicitly excluded — as are separated spouses.

The practical consequences:

• Doctors are bound by confidentiality and, without authorisation, may not share your partner's diagnosis with you.
• You cannot consent to or refuse an operation for them.
• If no one is authorised, a court (Betreuungsgericht) may appoint a legal guardian (Betreuer) — potentially a stranger, not you.

The instruments that close this gap are a health-care power of attorney (Vorsorgevollmacht) and a living will (Patientenverfügung), both grounded in §§ 164 ff. BGB. You can note their existence and location in the Zentrales Vorsorgeregister kept by the Bundesnotarkammer, so a court can find them quickly.

In short: without a Vorsorgevollmacht, you have no say in your partner's care — and no right even to be told what's wrong.

Will banks, authorities and the post office deal with me on my partner's behalf?

Only if your partner has authorised you in writing. The same confidentiality logic runs through the whole administrative world. Banks, tax offices, insurers, health insurers and the postal service all treat you as an unrelated third party.

Common everyday walls unmarried couples hit:

• A bank will not discuss, freeze or access your partner's account for you without an account power of attorney (Kontovollmacht).
• A public authority (Behörde) will not release information about your partner citing data protection.
• Deutsche Post will not hand over registered mail or redirect your partner's post without a postal authorisation (Postvollmacht).

Each of these is solvable, but only in advance, and only with the affected partner's consent — a general power of attorney toward authorities, banks and insurers is permitted under §§ 164 ff. BGB. There is no shortcut that a marriage certificate would otherwise have provided.

What happens to our shared flat if we split up or one of us dies?

This depends entirely on whose name is on the lease — because for unmarried couples, none of the protective family-law provisions for spouses apply. Only general tenancy law counts.

The bright spot: § 563 BGB gives a partner who runs a joint household with the tenant a right to enter the tenancy when the tenant dies — this can include an unmarried life partner living in the flat. But it is a right you must know about and invoke; it is not the automatic protection a spouse enjoys, and it does nothing for you during a living separation.

In short: if only one of you signs, the other is legally a guest — make sure the lease reflects how you actually live.

Does my partner inherit anything if I die without a will?

No. Under the statutory rules of intestate succession, an unmarried partner is not an heir at all — not a cent passes to them by default. The estate goes to blood relatives (and, for married couples, the spouse), following the order set out in the German Civil Code.

Even if you do leave your partner something by will (Testament), the tax treatment is harsh. An unmarried partner is placed in inheritance-tax class III (Steuerklasse III) with:

• A tax-free allowance of just €20,000 — regardless of how long you were together.
• Tax rates starting at 30% and rising with the value inherited.

Compare that to a spouse: a €500,000 allowance and a lowest rate of 7%. These class III figures have stood unchanged since 2009 (verify the current values with the Finanzamt, as thresholds can be revised). To leave your partner anything at all, a will is not optional — it is the only route.

In short: no will means your partner inherits nothing, and even with one, the tax bite is severe.

What if one of us is not an EU citizen?

For binational couples, the silence extends to the right to be in the country. Family reunification (Familiennachzug) does not cover unmarried partners. The residence rules that let a spouse from a non-EU country move to and stay in Germany simply do not apply to a partner you are merely living with.

In practice, a non-EU partner needs their own basis for residence — study, work, or another permit category — because the relationship itself carries no immigration weight without marriage (or, in limited cases, a foreign registered partnership with equivalent legal effects). This is one gap a private document cannot bridge; it is governed by the Aufenthaltsgesetz, and the responsible authority is the local Ausländerbehörde. If residence status depends on your relationship, get specialist immigration advice early rather than assuming cohabitation will count.

Conclusion

The core lesson of moving in together unmarried in Germany is that the law fills none of the gaps for you: in an emergency, at a bank, on the lease, and in your estate, you remain two strangers until you deliberately decide otherwise. Nearly every gap above has a concrete instrument that closes it — a Vorsorgevollmacht, a Patientenverfügung, a Kontovollmacht, a will, and being named on the lease. The single most useful next step is to sit down together, list which of these gaps would actually hurt in your situation, and confirm the current requirements with a notary, a lawyer, or the responsible authority before you need them — not after.