LEGAL How to navigate cohabitation


‘We never thought we would split up’ is one of the most frequent comments that Kelvin Henderson, partner and specialist family solicitor at Nelsons Solicitors, hears when dealing with clients who are not married and then decide to separate. Kelvin specialises in advising on cohabitation disputes from a unique perspective, with knowledge of both family and civil procedure, and offers the following advice.


Lots of people decide to live together and more often than not, couples in that situation will buy a property without having a full and honest conversation about how they unravel the finances should the worst happen. Many clients tell me that they did not have a


discussion about who owns what in their home, or how much money each should contribute to bills, because they thought they would never split up.


‘Cohabiting couple families in the UK were the fastest-growing family type between 1996 and 2016’


In circumstances where a couple move in together but the property was already owned by one party, it’s likely that the property is in only that person’s name. Sometimes one of them already owns the house and


again, it is really important that they talk about what contributions each will be making to the bills and general maintenance of the property and what would happen if the relationship ended. Some people think that ‘common law marriage’


exists, but this is a myth and while there are strong arguments for modernising the law, at present couples


who live together cannot claim the rights that would be available to them if they were married. Over the course of a relationship a lot can change


and to prevent later problems, I encourage cohabitees to put in writing what their agreement is. Some of the things cohabitees should think about include whether or not to have a joint bank account and whether their wages all go into this account. They should also consider if they have a personal account, what it will be used for, how house contents are paid for and how to split


everything if they break up. “The point of setting things out in a


cohabitation agreement is that, should the worst


happen, the logistics are all laid out clearly beforehand and the process is made easier at what is already an emotional time. The Office for National Statistics reports that


cohabiting couple families in the UK were the fastest- growing family type between 1996 and 2016, more than doubling from 1.5 million families to 3.3 million families. The growth in this area may be due to couples choosing cohabitation as an alternative or precursor to marriage. Despite this, many still feel uncomfortable about


drawing up a cohabitation agreement but it can be vital in avoiding costly legal action at a later stage.


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