Family Department Fact Sheet
Living Together / Cohabitation Agreements
This document provides general guidance regarding cohabitation agreements. It explains what a cohabitation agreement is, why you might want to make one, and the sorts of things you might want to put into it. Your family lawyer will be able to provide specific advice based on your circumstances.
Living together / cohabitation agreements are not prenuptial agreements and will not be valid if you later decide to marry or form a civil partnership.
A living together agreement is a contract drawn up between you and your future cohabiting partner which sets out the arrangements about how you would resolve financial / children matters in the event that you separate and decide to live apart.
Despite a common misconception, the law does not recognise the term “common law wife or husband”. You will not have the same rights as if you were married or entered into a civil partnership. If a marriage or civil partnership ends and there is a disagreement about how the joint assets are to be divided, you can ask the Court to decide. The Court bases this decision on the presumption of fairness for each party. However, if you are living together and not married or in a civil partnership, you do not have these rights; you only own something if you paid for it or if you received it as a gift or via inheritance.
The agreement will say that you intend to live together and that you intend to share the responsibility for the children, confirm ownership of the tenancy of the property where you will live and who owns your possessions. It can also set out how you intend to meet your day-to-day living expenses and bills. It will set out your intentions if one of you dies, or if you later separate. The agreement may also contain a provision for it to be varied at a later stage and under what circumstances it will be varied.
It can also be prudent to include provisions that address potential future events, e.g., the needs of any future children
These agreements are not binding on the Courts and can be overturned, but on the basis that both parties have had independent legal advice, there has been full and frank disclosure and both parties have entered into the agreement freely and voluntarily, the Court would view the agreement as an important statement of evidence about your mutual intentions.
You can make a cohabitation agreement at any time, whether you are about to start living together or if you have been doing so for many years. Your family lawyer can help you negotiate this agreement and can write it down in a way that it is likely to be respected by the court in case there is ever a dispute about it.
You may also seek the assistance of a mediator to help the two of you talk about the potential terms of a cohabitation agreement or work out what should happen using collaborative law.
See also: Non-court dispute resolution – client guide.
Unlike divorce or civil partnership dissolution, there is no particular set of rules that automatically applies if you split up from someone you have been living with. There is no such thing as ‘common law marriage’. Living with someone for a certain period of time doesn’t mean you are automatically entitled to some financial support or to share their property after you split up. There have been proposals to change the law, but the government has said that it does not intend to do so at the moment. This means that where a couple has not been married or in a civil partnership, sorting out disputes about property without an agreement can be expensive and take a long time. A good cohabitation agreement can mean that areas of potential dispute on separation are reduced or eliminated.
Many couples also find the process of making a cohabitation agreement means that they have the chance to think and talk about how living together is going to work financially, meaning that arguments about money are less likely later on.
Your shared home
It is important to record how this is owned and whether there has been any separate agreement or promise that isn’t currently reflected in the legal documents. Who is paying the mortgage? If there are any endowment policies or other savings arrangements linked to a mortgage, what contributions are being made to those and how will they be dealt with if you split up? Are you going to insure each other’s lives? Your family lawyer may need to advise you about the implications of arrangements regarding your shared home, as this is usually the most complicated area for people living together.
Money and paying bills
Many people find it convenient to have a joint bank account when they live together but need to decide what contributions they are going to make to that account. Will the contributions be equal, and if not, will you consider the money in the joint account to be equally owned? What will the joint account be used for and when should your personal accounts be used instead? If you are not using a joint account, who will pay which of the household bills, and will this be considered an equivalent contribution to something else? What about credit cards and debts?
Pensions
Often overlooked, pensions sometimes give you the opportunity to make provision for loved ones. You may wish, for example, to agree on nominations for death-in-service benefits.
Personal possessions
You should consider who owns and/or will keep items such as furniture and cars. It may be worth setting down now any rules about ownership of important things or a way to sort out any disagreements about them in the event of a separation, for example, each of you picking in turn from a list of items.
Children
Although not legally binding, it is worthwhile thinking about whether you might like to provide for any children over and above the minimum expected by the child support system in the event of your separation (e.g., in respect of school or university fees) and to set down some expectations about how children would be cared for if you were to live apart.
It is possible that the law might change in the future to give cohabitants specific rights. Under the current proposals, if you have an agreement about what you want to happen in the event of your separation, this will take precedence over any new scheme that comes in, but the position may change.
You may need to review the agreement if you move house, have children or your circumstances change significantly. It’s important to ensure that the agreement is kept up to date.
You should also make a Will so that if you die while living with someone, your wishes can be put into effect. Although it is possible in some circumstances for a cohabitant to inherit, there are no strict rules about what should happen, so it is important that you make clear what you want.
Note: The above is intended as a general overview for your information. It is NOT intended to replace proper legal advice. Each case is different, and advice cannot be given without a proper analysis of your own circumstances. (May 2023)
