Living together / cohabitation agreements.


The following article is well worth a look – www.thetimes.co.uk

Living together and cohabiting is not the same as being married, and for unmarried couples even with children they are largely unprotected, if the partner dies or they split up.

Millions of people live together just as if they were man and wife, but there is no marriage license. The solution is to sign a living together agreement. This can be done quickly and cheaply, and Hylton- Potts provide the service the £595 including VAT.

It may seem unromantic, but unforeseen things can happen, such a serious injury and nobody can guarantee a relationship will last. The correct approach is to get the thing signed, put it in the drawer and forget about it but had it there if you needed.

If one partner owns the house and the second partner pays money towards it, both parties need to agree what the second partner is paying towards, whether it is rent, household bills or the mortgage. This can give the second partner some rights but to enforce can be expensive and complex, and the outcome uncertain. Living together agreement set it out clearly.

Children

If there are children, the partner owning the house can sometimes lose occupation of it to the other partner with the child until the children leave school at the age of 18 or more, not a happy outcome

If no agreement is made and there are children, in some cases the court may order the transfer of the home to the parent who is mainly looking after them to ensure the children are housed.

If part or all of the home is still owned by the other partner, it may not revert back to them until the youngest child is 18.

Wills and pensions

Bereaved partners who were not married get nothing unless there is a valid will. This can be written for a very competitive fixed fee.

Cohabitees are not entitled to receive the state pension or bereavement allowance. Many pension schemes may not pay out to unmarried partners in the event of death.

Hylton- Potts can help with problems like this. We operate from London offices but help clients all over the country at highly competitive fixed fees.

There is an office hours free confidential hotline 020 7381 8111 and a 24-hour free confidential email legal help service [email protected]

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