Cohabitation is an arrangement where two people are not married but live together. They are often involved in a romantic intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis.

The cohabitation of unmarried couples does not bring the same rights on separation as a divorce/dissolution might.

A cohabitation agreement can help to avoid the costly and time-consuming process of court proceedings should you and your partner separate in the future.

It is for the cohabiting couple to decide what they want the agreement to cover, but it can include:

• How rent, mortgage, and household bills are paid;
• What happens to joint bank accounts and pensions;
• Property and assets that were owned before, or bought whilst living together;
• Arrangements for children;
• Arrangements for pets;
• Next of kin rights

Before entering into a cohabitation agreement, it is highly recommended that each party seeks independent legal advice.

Cohabitation agreements can be similar to contracts. You and your partner will, in effect, create a contract with each other and the court will certainly consider the terms of it if they need to.

However, they are not ‘watertight’ and it will depend on how the agreement was made. For example, did each party receive legal advice and did they provide full and frank information to each other before entering into the cohabitation agreement.

Cohabiting couples have no legal duty to support each other financially, either while you are living together or if you separate. Nor do you automatically share ownership of your possessions, savings, investments, and so on. In general, ownership is unaffected by moving in together.

In general, unmarried couples can’t claim ownership of each other’s property in the event of a breakup. This applies to big investments (such as a house) and smaller items (such as furniture). Gifts made during the relationship remain the property of the recipient.

Unlike in a divorce, an individual is only liable for debts which are in their own name, they are not liable for any debts which are just in their partner’s name.

Our approachable specialist lawyers provide practical and cost-effective advice. We will frankly assess your prospects of success and explain the position sensitively and in plain English.

The law on cohabitation is complex and, in the absence of clear documentation, we have the skills to examine large volumes of personal papers to help to identify the important documents to support your case.