Co-habitation and pre-nuptial / Civil Partnership Agreements

If people decide to live together rather than marry or enter into a civil partnership, the law does not currently protect individuals in the same way with regard to finances if the relationship ends or if one party dies.

A co-habitation agreement can set out arrangements for your future. This can include financial issues such as:

You may wish to include arrangements for the children of the family.

Planning ahead will also assist you for unforeseen events such as separation, long-term illness and death. Pre-nuptial/civil partnership agreements can evolve from co-habitation agreements or stand alone.

If you have been married previously you may well have assets you wish to protect, in particular if there are children and inheritance issues. For example, you may each have a property - you might decide to sell both or let one of the properties.

If you wish to make an agreement through mediation, the mediator will establish the areas you wish to discuss, for example finances, children, future planning and then identify if appropriate the current assets and liabilities of both.

The mediator will write a Memorandum of Understanding, which will cover all the arrangements and plans that you have made.

The courts currently use discretion when deciding if co-habitation and pre-nuptial/civil partnerships agreements are to be upheld. However if people have set out their arrangements with open and honest disclosure and taken independent legal advice, making clear their intent, they are maximising the chances of the agreements being upheld. Solicitors can use the document prepared in mediation to produce an agreement that you can both sign to demonstrate your intentions.

They can also arrange trust deeds with regard to property rights and prepare wills in the event of death.