Lauren Preedy – Head of our Divorce and Cohabitee Team
Many couples live together without getting married or entering a civil partnership.
Many couples who live together without being married also have children.
Statistically these relationships do not last as long as relationships where the couple choose to marry or enter a civil partnership.
There is no such thing as Common Law Husband/Wife. In fact, the law can be quite harsh in how it deals with financial disputes between unmarried couples.
It is increasingly common for a couple who are planning to marry to enter into a Prenuptial Agreement or for a couple who have already married to have a Post-nuptial Agreement (which essentially does the same thing – but is entered after the marriage rather than before). If a married couple separates they can also enter into a Separation Agreement.
These agreements are essentially contracts which a couple enter into with a view to limiting each other’s legal rights in the event of separation or with a view to agreeing how a separation should be conducted.
For couples who are planning to live together but not marry or enter a civil partnership or who have already started living together, it is also possible to enter into a similar arrangement called a Living Together Agreement or Cohabitation Agreement.
Fiona Griffin: Divorce and Cohabitee specialist
Couples who live together outside of marriage or civil partnership will not have the benefit of the wide discretion and underlying objective of fairness which underpins the law of divorce and civil partnership.
Instead separating unmarried couples must rely on a mishmash of different laws. In the case of disputes over property these laws were not designed to assist couples who live together and have children together in a property owned only by one.
We would therefore strongly urge anyone who is thinking of living together with their partner outside of marriage or is already living together with their partner outside of marriage to take legal advice as to whether it would be sensible to have a Living Together or Cohabitation Agreement. Particularly if they are thinking of buying or have bought a property and even more particularly if they are thinking of having or have children.
The best time to resolve disagreements is when they have not yet happened. Anticipating a potential problem and agreeing what will happen if that problem does materialise at a point in time when the couple get on with each other, is much much better than trying to resolve a problem when a couple are not getting on with each other.
As we also set out in our pages on Cohabitation Agreements – the exercise of preparing an agreement can also help clarify how the couple will live together – which can also assist to avoid problems which might over time undermine the relationship. Discussing what might be part of a Cohabitation Agreement might mean that a couple realised that they are not really suited to living with each other. This is not necessarily a bad thing and could avoid a lot of grief for both further along the line.
Bridget Garrood; Divorce and Cohabitee specialist
Whilst Cohabitation Agreements can be very helpful – they are not as common as they should be and couples do split and do fall into dispute.
Our approach is the same for all of our clients which is to endeavour to resolve cases through sensible negotiation in the best way.
If the case cannot be resolved through sensible agreement and court action is necessary then it is best to conduct the litigation in a sensible and principled way – endeavouring always to avoid unnecessary side disputes or distractions from trying to resolve the fundamental problem sensibly.
At Ian Walker Family Law and Mediation Solicitors we have a team of lawyers who specialise in disputes between unmarried couples. This includes not only disagreements between couples of different sexes but also between same-sex couples.
Kris Seed: Divorce and Cohabitee specialist
Our Family Finance Team is led by Lauren Preedy. Lauren is an experienced Family Law Solicitor and Collaborative Family Lawyer and the chair of the Somerset region of Resolution
Our team also includes leading LGBT+ specialist solicitor: Bridget Garrood. Bridget is also a Collaborative Family Lawyer and is a volunteer committee member for The Law Society’s LGBT+ Lawyers Division. Bridget is also a former chair of the Devon region of Resolution.
Our Finance Team also includes Fiona Griffin who is another Cohabiting specialist. Financial disputes between former cohabitees can be quite a niche area of family law and we therefore have one of the strongest teams in the South-West.
Our Private Law Children Team headed by Kris Seed also has considerable expertise in representing former cohabitees including on the breakdown of surrogacy arrangements.
If you need our assistance then please do get in touch…
Award-winning South-West family law and mediation practice seeking mediator to join our team. Lawyer mediators and specialist mediators considered. Range of employment options. Join a friendly team and progressive practice.
Read more
I am very pleased to announce that we are now able to assist clients in Yeovil. We now have access to a consulting room the White House, Hendford Hill, Yeovil BA20 2RF. This is located near to Yeovil town centre. There is a map below.
Read more
You’ve come to the painful conclusion that your marriage has irretrievably broken down. You want a divorce, but where do you start? The situation can seem overwhelming. Your entire life appears to hang in the balance: with whom you live...
Read more
It’s a simple question, and one that, one suspects, often goes through the mind of those involved in, or contemplating, divorce. Divorce has a reputation for being one of the most difficult and stressful things anyone has to go through duri
Read more
It is obviously important not only that a judge is not biased, but that they are not perceived to be possibly biased. If a party considers that the judge dealing with their case is biased against them then they may ask the judge to ‘recuse
Read more
We have written here previously about the emotive subject of parental alienation, where one parent alienates a child against the other parent. As we explained in that post, if the court finds that alienation has taken place then it can orde
Read more
Very often in disputes between parents over arrangements for a child the child will have a useful input, which can be an important factor when considering what the best arrangements should be. But when and how are the child’s wishes taken..
Read more
Everyone looking for a family lawyer wants to choose the best one they can. But if you’ve never instructed one before, how should you go about finding the best lawyer for you? These days there is a great deal of information available about
Read more
2019 has been a massive year for Ian Walker Family Law Solicitors. This article brings you up to date with our latest developments. These include highly respected divorce solicitor Bridget Garrood joining our team and our office move
Read more
Are divorce settlements taxable? The tax treatment of divorce settlements is something that concerns many people who are going through divorce. However, as we will see, in most cases there is only really one tax issue that should be of concern. Before we get to that, let us very quickly consider some other tax issues […]
Read more
It has been another big week for family law news. Following the passing through parliament last week of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill (which has now received the Royal Assent), the government has this week announced a major
Read more
In arguably the most important development in family law in this country in the last thirty years, the Government’s Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill, which will bring in a system of no-fault divorce, has passed through both houses
Read more
