A woman who was in an extramarital relationship with a man before he died has failed in her High Court attempt to be legally declared his cohabitant over the objections of the man’s wife.

In a ruling, Mr Justice Max Barrett said he did not agree with the applicant that the man had lived with her for at least five years in the lead-up to his death, which is required for being defined as a “qualified cohabitant” under the relevant Act.

The Act further requires that a married person has been living apart from their spouse for at least four of the previous five years. The judge did not see that this had happened.

Certain legal rights are conferred on long-term cohabitants when a relationship legally ends, either through a separation or death.

The man’s wife accepted the woman and her husband were in an intimate relationship and that he had been involved romantically with other women. However, the wife said she and her husband were never estranged and continued to cohabit as married partners until his death.