While many couples choose not to marry or enter into a formal civil partnership, the law does not protect cohabitees in the same way it protects married couples and civil partners.
We can help cohabitees/partners reach agreements dealing with the financial consequences of living together. Such agreements can offer a greater degree of legal certainty in an area of developing law. We also advise clients on disputes arising from the breakdown of co-habitee relationships.
How our family lawyers work
A cohabitation agreement can help protect family wealth or ring-fence commercial assets to ensure business continuity.
It is important for cohabitees to consider the terms on which they hold their assets including property, business interests, shares and trusts.
We have extensive experience in advising, negotiating and preparing cohabitee agreements for clients in various stages in their relationships.
How we've helped
We acted for a client who had moved out of a property he jointly owned with his partner. His partner, who remained living in the property, made settlement proposals that did not accurately reflect the financial contribution made by our client. We advised our client and worked with his partner’s solicitor to reach a settlement that reflected our client’s input into the jointly held property. Through hard negotiation, we avoided the costs of issuing court proceedings and prepared a settlement agreement with which our client was properly recompensed for his input to the family life.