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A Cohabitation Agreement is a ‘written, signed document, often signed as a deed in front of witnesses’ that deals with the terms that a couple have decided to cohabit together. One of CrewFO‘s partners is here to take you through Cohabitation Agreements, and when crew would need one.
Why Would Crew Need A Cohabitation Agreement?
A Cohabitation Agreement can be a key document to consider if you are moving in with your partner, or your partner is moving in with you and you are not yet married.
Cohabitation Agreements can be of specific importance if the property is owned solely by one person in the relationship, or if there has been an uneven level of contribution towards a deposit on a property.
What Needs To Be Included Within A Cohabitation Agreement?
A Cohabitation Agreement can cover all manner of things, including but not limited to, the following:
- Who will be responsible for the mortgage payments?
- Who will be responsible for paying the utilities?
- What will happen to the contents of the property if you separate?
- What about any renovation work that is going to be done to the house?
- What will happen to the equity in the property if you were to separate?
- Will you have a joint bank account? What will happen with the joint bank account if you separate?
- Do either of you have any pensions? What would you like to happen to your pensions?
- Do you have Death in Service or other benefits via your workplace?
If you have any children, what will be the arrangements for the children be if you separate? Both practically and financially.
All of these things can be considered and worked into an agreement to ensure that if anything does happen within the relationship which causes you to separate, that it was clear at the outset of you cohabiting together that you had certain intentions for how matters would be dealt with if you were to ever separate.
Many couples of are of the view that if they were to separate, they would deal with matters amicably at that stage, and many couples do deal with separation in this way. However, there are often circumstances where feelings can be hurt, trust can sometimes be lost and at that stage fairness can be the last thing that separating couples are thinking about.
When Should I Make A Cohabitation Agreement?
Often couples will have a Cohabitation Agreement drawn up in advance of them moving in with each other, however there is no set deadline for when you can have a Cohabitation Agreement. This could be two weeks prior to you moving in with each other or when you have been living together for some years and now want to formalise arrangements.
What Makes Cohabitation Agreements More Enforceable?
A Cohabitation Agreement can be a crucial document if proceedings are ever brought under the Trustee of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA) by either person in the relationship.
A Cohabitation Agreement, if entered into correctly, can demonstrate both parties’ intentions and therefore carry weight if a Court were ever asked to determine what should happen with a property or assets following a couples’ separation.
It is also helpful for both parties entering into the Cohabitation Agreement to take separate, independent legal advice to demonstrate that they fully understood the legal ramifications of what they were signing up to and also that the terms detailed within the agreement are reasonable.
Taking the advice of a solicitor in the circumstances of having a Cohabitation Agreement drawn up is crucial to ensure that all scenarios and eventualities are covered and to make certain that if there is a separation further down the line and either party makes an application to the Court, that the Cohabitation Agreement has been properly drafted, executed and advised upon to give it the most weight possible when being considered alongside Court Proceedings.
Moving in with your partner and need some professional pointers? Get in touch with Crew FO here.
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