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What do I do if I decide to live with someone?
When a client decides to live together with another person,
but they have no immediate plans to marry, we recommend a
“living together agreement” and a new will. The
legal solutions applicable to sort out difficulties when a
marriage ends on divorce or death do not in general apply
to unmarried people, and the general English law may be quite
inadequate to deal fairly with such difficulties.
The aim of a living together agreement would be:
- to enable you to record your intentions when you start
living together;
- to set out the financial contributions you each make whilst
you are living
happily together; and
- to make provision for you/your partner on termination
of the relationship other than would be provided by the
law.
This should reduce possible areas of dispute, if problems
were to arise in future.
We would advise you on the contents of an agreement to cater
for your particular circumstances. Your partner should obtain
his/her own independent legal advice.
The areas to consider might include the following:
- ownership of the property where you live;
- payment of mortgage, bills and other living expenses;
- ownership of furniture and other items;
- gifts and inheritances;
- liability for debts/credit;
- ownership of bank accounts and other capital assets e.g.
cars;
- life assurance and pension provisions;
- powers of attorney;
- children; and
- review and termination of the agreement.
In addition, to make provision for your partner upon death,
you both ought to make new wills.
For further details of Charles Russell's other services for
families such as adoption, pre-nuptial arrangements, rights
of co-habitants, please contact David
Davidson or another member of the Family Group.
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