Can a former common-law partner who separated from the deceased years before death bring a dependant support claim?

This is a much harder claim to make than one brought by a current partner, and separating years before death can be a real obstacle. To qualify as a dependant, a common-law partner generally needs to meet the Family Law Act's definition of "spouse" — three or more years of continuous cohabitation, or a relationship of some permanence where they're parents of a child together — and the claim also depends on the deceased supporting them, or being legally obligated to support them, immediately before death.

A separation years earlier raises the question of whether that cohabiting relationship, and any resulting support obligation, still existed at the relevant time, which is a fact-specific inquiry rather than an automatic bar. Unlike a married spouse, a former common-law partner has no automatic inheritance right regardless of how long the relationship lasted, so there's no fallback claim if the dependant support test isn't met. Whether a claim is realistic will turn heavily on what happened after the separation — whether any support continued, whether the parties reconciled at points, and how long ago the relationship truly ended. Anyone in this situation should get advice quickly given the added complexity and the short claim window.