Attitudes towards marriage are changing with many couples now choosing to cohabit before – or as an alternative to – marriage.
Moving in together is usually a joyous event in a relationship, but, understandably, few cohabiting couples consider what would happen if the relationship broke down.
For married couples and civil partners, family law sets out clear rules on the division of money, assets, and personal belongings upon divorce or dissolution. For cohabiting couples, there are no legal rights to each other’s property and the fair division of assets. Therefore, when cohabiting couples break up, issues regarding the ownership of property and questions about how the finances are to be arranged can quickly arise, causing lengthy and stressful disputes which may end up in court.
At Hubbard Pegman & Whitney, our family law solicitors have specialist experience assisting and supporting clients through cohabitation disputes, including financial disagreements, disputes over property, arrangements and financial provision for children, and advice on inheritance and claims for financial provision.
As skilful negotiators, we are able to help a significant proportion of our clients resolve their cohabitation dispute out of court using non-combative methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution such as mediation. If it does become necessary to go to court, we will arrange robust representation with the goal of getting your matter resolved as positively, efficiently, and cost-effectively as possible.
For friendly, expert guidance on matters relating to children and divorce, get in touch with our family law solicitors – Primrose Hudson and Susanna Russell – today. You can call 0208 735 9770, email info@hpwsolicitors.co.uk or fill in our online enquiry form.
If you and your partner have chosen to part ways but are having difficulty untangling your lives, our highly skilled family solicitors can provide clear, sensitive advice on all cohabitation matters, including:
We can also provide advice to couples who are moving in together or already living together create cohabitation agreements, a legal document which sets out how finances and children matters are to be arranged should you break up.
Many couples move in together on the assumption that, after a certain period of time, usually 7 years, they will acquire “common law” marriage rights and become entitled to the fair division of money and property if they break up.
In fact, “common law marriage” is a myth. Unmarried couples never acquire legal rights by virtue of staying together for a long time.
Unfortunately, this has led to some individuals falling on financial hardship or being forced to move out of their home after a break-up.
A cohabitation agreement is an arrangement between an unmarried couple in relation to what will happen if they break up, including:
Cohabitation agreements can provide certainty for couples, potentially avoiding disputes later on if they break up.
If you are choosing to live with your partner before getting married, our family law lawyers can help you agree and draft a cohabitation agreement.
We also provide advice where the cohabitation agreement is disputed after the break-up. For example, where one party claims its terms are unfair.
If you and your former-partner have not signed a cohabitation agreement, whether you can force your partner to leave your shared home will depend on how it is owned or rented.
If it is owned or rented in your joint names, it will be difficult to make them leave. However, if you are concerned about continuing to cohabit, for example, because of domestic violence issues, we can provide sensitive advice on potentially obtaining an emergency remedy.
As unmarried couples do not have any rights to each other’s property, personal belongings will be divided according to who owns them. For example, the car will belong solely to the person whose name the title is in and the TV will belong to the person who bought it.
The division of personal belongings is often difficult to prove and can potentially result in long legal battles involving endless lists and receipts. Wherever possible, we can help you keep the process amicable by negotiating a division which is fair.
With nearly half of babies now being born to unmarried couples each year, children still retain substantial legal protection even where the parents are not married.
Our family lawyers understand that your children’s happiness is likely to be your greatest concern when separating and the welfare of your children will be our paramount concern when providing you with advice. We can provide practical guidance on matters such as:
In the majority of situations, we can help clients come to a harmonious compromise on arrangements for children using Alternative Dispute Resolution such as family mediation.
We pride ourselves on truly understanding the needs of our client and providing legal advice which reflects their individual circumstances. Our approach is to keep our clients central to every action we take whilst working towards a positive resolution as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.
Primrose Hudson and Susanna Russell each have decades of experience in this field. They have worked with many cohabitation matters and disputes, including helping couples come to arrangements about children.
Hubbard Pegman & Whitney is independently regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
For friendly, expert guidance on matters relating to children and divorce, get in touch with our family law solicitors – Primrose Hudson and Susanna Russell – today. You can call 0208 735 9770, email info@hpwsolicitors.co.uk or fill in our online enquiry form.
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