When you live with your partner, it is mandatory to enter into a cohabitation agreement, which is also called a living together agreement. If you have not heard about it, or want to know more about it, then you should consult a good family lawyer in Adelaide. He will explain to you the need for it, why is it mandatory, and what are the finer points of it.
A Cohabitation Agreement sets out the ownership of existing assets (including property). It outlines your financial responsibilities toward each other. Also, it directs how savings and jointly owned assets will be distributed in case you later split up.
More and more couples nowadays are choosing to live together before they get married or enter into a civil partnership. Some couples choose never to have their relationship legally recognized at all, neither by marriage nor civil partnership.
But, when they cohabit, they are not entitled to the same legal rights as marriage or civil partnership. Because it is not valid in the eyes of the law. So, if such couples have shared assets, then there will be big legal complexities and uncertainties if they separate. They might have to consult Probate Lawyer in Adelaide in such situations.
In reality, they have no express legal rights in a relationship if they are not married or in a civil partnership if there are no assets jointly owned.
What does a cohabitation agreement cover?
The cohabitation agreement sets out who owns what and in what proportion in the relationship. Also, it covers the following elements.
- Property ownership
- Deposit on the home
- The proportion of mortgage orrent
- Household bills
- Bank accounts and money
- Life insurance
- Pensions
- Assets such as cars, furniture, other property, jewelry, and so on
- Payment of debts
- Responsibility of Pets
- Rights of the next of kin
- Property title deeds
- Wills
If there is no clarity about issues such as child custody, then the couples need to discuss the matter with some child custody lawyer in Adelaide.
If there is any criminal case involved, then an expert criminal lawyer Adelaide has to be consulted.
Inclusions of a cohabitation agreement
Although each cohabitation agreement is different and it depends on the individual circumstances of the couple, there are a few key elements that everyone must think about before seeking advice from a solicitor or divorce lawyer Adelaide:
- Property owned before moving in together
- Property bought while living together
- Inheritance and wills
- Household bills
- Independent legal advice
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