STARTING A RELATIONSHIP

I am moving in with my partner; do I need to protect my interests?

No one knows what the future may bring and unfortunately no matter how long your relationship lasts, if you are not married, you do not have any automatic rights under English law, should your relationship end.

The good news is that you can safeguard your interests by drawing up a ‘cohabitation’ or ‘living together agreement’ to sort out the day to day workings of living together, and to protect both you and your partner from whatever might happen to your relationship in the future.

Drawing up an agreement is a bespoke process. You can tailor it to suit the two of you and any children you might have. In the agreement  you can set out what you have agreed as a cohabiting  couple, including a clear definition of your individual responsibilities, your interest in each other’s assets and provision for what should happen if you part ways. You would both need to take independent legal advice before signing the agreement, disclosing full details of your finances.

The legal status of a cohabitation agreement is similar to that of a prenuptial agreement.  The agreement greatly enhances your chances of avoiding a difficult legal battle if the courts do become involved as the agreement would carry weight with any Judge being asked to make a decision about how the assets should be divided. If you would like to find out more about what a cohabitation agreement involves, call to talk to one of our experts.

I am getting married; do I need a prenuptial agreement?

Entering into a prenuptial agreement might be considered distinctly unromantic following the excitement of an engagement. However, we all know that sadly not all marriages last a lifetime even with the best of intentions, which is why it is advisable to think about defining the present and future division of your assets before you enter into the legally binding contract of marriage or civil partnership with your other half.

So what exactly is a prenuptial agreement? A prenuptial agreement (or a pre-partnership agreement for civil partners) is a written agreement made by a couple who intend to get married or enter into a civil partnership, which sets out what should happen to their assets when they are married and attempts to define what will happen in the event of the breakdown of the relationship.  Although they are not strictly binding, properly negotiated and drafted prenuptial agreements carry considerable weight when being considered by the courts in divorce proceedings.

If you do decide to enter into an agreement, you will each need to take independent advice from your solicitor and you should start the process well in advance of the ‘big day’ as it usually takes around eight weeks. If you would like to find out more about what a prenuptial agreement involves, call to talk to one of our experts.