Co-habitation Disputes

More than half of first time buyers are unmarried. Many of those couples remain unmarried, often going on to have children together. They often describe themselves as ‘common law’ husband and wife and treat everything as if they were formally married.

Beware. There is no such thing recognised by the courts as ‘common law’ husband and wife. When unmarried couples separate, the consequences can bring about entirely unexpected results. The legal rights of parties who are not married or in a civil partnership are very different from those who are married, affecting property rights and children.

A substantial amount of our work involves drafting agreements before or after a marriage or a relationship following a change of financial circumstances or upon separation (whether married or not).

These are just some of the issues that we regularly advise on:

• Pre-nuptial agreements
• Separation agreements
• Co-habitation agreements
• Post-nuptial agreements

For more details please contact us