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Living Together Agreements |
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Buying a home can be one of the biggest purchases you will make in your life. If is important to consider the ownership of the property at the outset if you are buying with a partner.There are two different ways in which you and your partner could own the property. As joint tenants you together own the whole of the property. You would each have an equal interest in it and if one of you dies the other will automatically acquire the property regardless of the provisions of your will. Alternatively as tenants in common you would each own a share of the property. You can enter into a separate trust deed setting out your shares. Also, as tenants in common, if one of you dies then that share would pass under the terms of their will rather than automatically passing to the other joint owner. If you and your partner are making unequal contributions towards the purchase it is important to consider entering into an deed to provide that you own the property in unequal shares.Problems can arise after purchase if there are further unequal contributions to outgoings relating to the property such as mortgage repayments and utility bills or to the cost of maintenance or renovation work to the property. This can be difficult, messy and expensive to resolve. In order to avoid any unnecessary confusion or anxiety it is easier to enter into a Cohabitation Deed at the outset. This can set out clearly how much you will each contribute and how jointly owned property will be dealt with. That way you can avoid spending time arguing over how much you are each going to pay for that broken boiler or leaky roof and can get on with enjoying living together.Jane Livingstone, family law solicitor at Flint bishop LLP says it is a common misconception that once you start to live together you will become a “common law wife or husband” and as a result you will have some financial protection if you later separate. There is no such legal concept. People who are simply living together do not have automatic claims against each others assets such as income, pension and capital. In some circumstances it is possible to claim against a partners capital if it can be demonstrated that you contributed towards the purchase of an item of capital held in their sole name. Equally if you go on to have children and remain unmarried it may be possible to pursue financial claims for their benefit. Such claims are complicated and can be very hard to pursue. A Cohabitation Deed would provide clarity and help to avoid any future arguments.There are plans afoot to consider whether the law should provide more protection for unmarried couples who live together. Proposals were put forward as long ago as 2007 to change the law to provide unmarried parents with more financial security on separation. However at the present time this is a difficult area of law and so a Cohabitation Agreement at the outset can help to ensure that in the future both you and your partner are clear on your financial positions.BACK TO PRESS RELEASES |
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Fiona Lazenby |
Carl Weston |
