Cohabitation Agreement

2775671823_561434b440 The number of divorces has gone up by 0.5% between 2011 and 2012, according to the Office for National Statistics. This increase has been suggested to be the result of the economic recovery. The reasoning is that as people’s personal finances have improved, they feel that they can finally afford to go through with a divorce. As these people begin their new lives and as new couples are made aware of the daunting divorce rates, a sense of pessimistic, or pragmatic, realism begins to set in to their view of marriage.

When love is all you need, the seemingly broken traditions of weddings and marriages becomes less appealing in exchange for a simpler alternative. This is why we are seeing a trend towards cohabitation. However, while couples may have gone down this path as a result of their pragmatism, they may not have been pragmatic enough to acquire a cohabitation agreement.

Why do I need a Cohabitation Agreement

  •  It’s an essential document for non-married couples.
  •  Non married couples have no legal rights if they separate unlike married couples.
  •  You can live together for many years but you have no rights over your partner’s assets.
  •  The document allows you to set out what is important to you, such as how the ownership of the family home is held.
  •  The document can also include an agreement on who pays the mortgage, the household expenditure and what happens to your saving and contents in the event of a relationship breakdown.

You may think this is unnecessary and unromantic but do you want to be left homeless if a relationship breakdowns?

Be told you have no rights over your home?

That you are responsible for all the debts?

A Cohabitation Agreement is a realistic investment for those simply wanting to live together. It can avoid financial heartache in the future.

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