Cohabitees do not have the same legal obligations towards each other that marriage or civil partnership brings. If your relationship breaks down, the law may not necessarily step in to protect your financial position, as it could do if you were married or in a civil partnership.

But it’s a 50/50 financial split surely I should be entitled to half?

Imagine that you and your partner live together for several years like a married couple, but without being married. Your partner owns the property you live in: they bought it many years ago in their name, and they pay the mortgage. You buy all the food and pay all the household bills, and the cost of this is about equal to your partner’s mortgage payments. In terms of outgoings, it is a 50/50 split.

If your relationship broke down and you separated, your partner would be entitled to keep the property, with the benefit of the mortgage payments they made. You would have little or no claim over it, even if your partner was only able to afford the mortgage because you paid for all the food and household bills.

What about our children?

If you and your partner are unmarried when your child is born, the father only has parental responsibility if he is named on the child’s birth certificate or enters into a formal agreement with the mother (this requires registration) or if the court orders it.

So, how do I protect myself?

If you had been married or in a civil partnership (with the same arrangements as to mortgage payments and other household expenditure), the court (depending on circumstances) would have wider powers to redistribute the equity in the property (it being the family home) between you and your partner.

As a cohabitee, you are not automatically protected by laws specific to relationship breakdown, in the way that spouses/civil partners are. However, you and your partner can create your own, legally binding agreement setting out how your finances (capital and income, assets and liabilities) are to be dealt with if you separated. This is known as a cohabitation agreement, and enables you to claim many of the safeguards available to spouses/civil partners, whilst remaining as cohabitees. The agreement should be drafted by a solicitor and each of you should take legal advice independently of the other, to ensure it is enforceable.

These materials and content have been prepared for the benefit of their viewers/readers. They are intended for marketing purposes only and are of a general nature and do not constitute legal advice applicable to any particular facts or circumstances. Kidd Rapinet LLP and/or the author(s) accept no duty of care, responsibility or liability for any loss or damage which you or any third party may suffer as a result of any reliance or use by you or they of these marketing materials and content, except to the extent it is not legally possible to exclude such liability. If you require legal advice on your own situation, please contact us so we can discuss how we may assist.

The end of a relationship, whether by separation, divorce or dissolution of civil partnership, often feels like bereavement. You may experience a cycle of emotions similar to those after the death of a family member or close friend. In dealing with practicalities like making arrangements for your children, sorting out finances and dividing assets, it often helps if you can first recognise where you are emotionally, and where your former partner is. Understanding this equips you to make rational decisions rather than ones driven by emotion.
You may find that separation following the breakdown of a relationship triggers the following:

1. Anxiety: About the process of achieving a settlement, “Where do I start? How do I sort things out?” and about settlement terms, “Where will the children and I live? Will we have enough money?”
   Seeking legal advice at an early stage can help you to deal with these worries. You are likely to feel less anxious if you have information about the legal process, preliminary advice on options for settlement and a plan as to how to take matters forward.
2. Guilt: Asking yourself why the relationship has ended, whether it is somehow your fault. You may feel disbelief, agitation and confusion as to the cause of the relationship breakdown, and repeatedly blame yourself. You might also find it difficult, at this stage, to engage in the practical process of separation.
3. Anger: A swing in the opposite direction, when you find yourself feeling a deep sense of injustice: you have done nothing wrong, the relationship breakdown is not your fault. It may be hard for you to adopt a conciliatory approach to children matters and/or financial negotiations. You might, at this stage, want to dig in and fight harder.
4. Grief: This may surface as you make progress with the legal and practical steps involved in separation, and find yourself increasingly focused on the enormity of what you have lost. It is important to focus also on the future and, if you need it, to seek professional support in dealing with what might feel like an overwhelming loss.
5. Acceptance: Chances are that with appropriate legal, practical and emotional support, you find yourself recovered from the trauma of separation – “I am OK!”. Increasingly you look to the future, rather than mourning the past, and find yourself able to cope. Life will never be the same again but you accept this and are well placed to face the future.

These materials and content have been prepared for the benefit of their viewers/readers. They are intended for marketing purposes only and are of a general nature and do not constitute legal advice applicable to any particular facts or circumstances. Kidd Rapinet LLP and/or the author(s) accept no duty of care, responsibility or liability for any loss or damage which you or any third party may suffer as a result of any reliance or use by you or they of these marketing materials and content, except to the extent it is not legally possible to exclude such liability. If you require legal advice on your own situation, please contact us so we can discuss how we may assist.