Client Services : Co-habitation

Cohabitation Solicitors

Can We Help You?
For a FREE, NO OBLIGATION assessment of how we can help and how much it is likely to cost, please call us on 01788 576384 or complete our Online Enquiry Form.

When two people live together, there is no body of legislation in place to protect them as there is with married couples or civil partners.  Despite popular use of the term, there is no such concept as ‘common law’ husband or wife.  The only recourse available is contract law or complicated trust law in relation to property.  Therefore, it is essential to regulate your relationship by entering into a formal written agreement.  In this way, you can deal with your financial (and other) arrangements now and agree what would happen in the unfortunate event that your relationship breaks down.  Here are just some of the areas that you should consider:

1. Children;
2. Personal property;
3. Gifts;
4. Bank and building society accounts;
5. Credit agreements;
6. Motor cars;
7. Debts;
8. Life insurance;
9. Pensions;
10. Enduring powers of attorney;
11. Living expenses;
12. Wills
13. Dependency claims;
14. Termination; and
15. Transitional arrangements.

As with marital agreements and separation agreements, a number of conditions must be satisfied in order for a cohabitation agreement to be legally effective.  Our fixed fee is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

DECLARATIONS OF TRUST

Whenever land is involved, it is vital that a separate declaration of trust is also prepared dealing with the following issues:

1. In whose name and in what shares are you to own your home?
2. Will you hold the property as ‘joint tenants’ or ‘tenants in common’?  If you hold as joint tenants, if one of you were to die your share would pass automatically to the survivor.  If you hold as tenants in common that share will be dealt with in accordance with your Will or, if no valid Will has been made, the Intestacy Rules.
3. In the event of a separation, would the house be sold, or would one party buy the other out?
4. If you have or intend to have children, would any sale be delayed until they have reached their majority?

We can usually agree a fixed fee for protecting your interests in this way.

DISPUTES

If these steps have not been taken, there are potentially two areas of conflict: land and inheritance.

CHILDREN

We provide specialist advice in relation to:

1. Status: A Parental Responsibility Agreement or Order for unmarried fathers.
2. Finance and property: Applications for a lump sum and/or property adjustment for the benefit of children and child maintenance.
3. Welfare and upbringing of children:  Applications for orders to include residence, contact, prohibited steps and specific issue orders.

Can We Help You?
For a FREE, NO OBLIGATION assessment of how we can help and how much it is likely to cost, please call us on 01788 576384 or complete our Online Enquiry Form.