There are significant financial implications in cohabiting and entering into marriage and, as with other situations that arise throughout your life, it is an opportunity to review your financial situation and consider what you would like to occur in certain scenarios.
As a cohabiting couple, you do not have as many legal rights as couples who are married or in a civil partnership. So, if you live together, it is essential that you understand your rights and what might happen if you break up, for example, your rights relating to money, property, inheritance, and your children.
A cohabitation agreement can help you solve many of the issues cohabitation can cause by setting out exactly who owns what and how finances should be managed in the event the relationship breaks down.
Getting married or entering into a civil partnership is a huge step in your life, before which, it is worth thinking about whether you should protect your financial interests.
Entering into a cohabitation agreement or a pre-nuptial agreement can avoid the necessity for there to be substantial correspondence or litigation if the relationship subsequently breaks down and significant weight is given to agreements entered into fairly and with the benefit of considered legal advice.
We can advise you on the merits of entering into such agreements and can prepare the documentation for you. It is always advisable for such documentation to be prepared as soon as possible and well in advance of the cohabitation or marriage occurring.
Our Family Law Team can advise about the timescales and costs to be incurred for preparing such agreements.
