27 Living Together and Your Rights if You Separate
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2. Why is living together different from being married?
4. Making a 'living together agreement'
Making a living together agreement is a good idea because it is a way of clearly recording what you have both agreed to. If you ever split up, it helps to prove what you agreed together, preventing costly arguments. You can also make the promises in such an agreement binding if it is drawn up as a 'deed' (a formal legal document that is like a contract).
You can write down all the things you agree about who will pay for what and how you will share the home. You can say what you think would be fair if you split up. You can do this yourselves, or you can ask a solicitor to advise you and to draw up the agreement.
You cannot legally stop each other going to court and trying to get a different result, but there are several good reasons for trying to make a living together agreement.
- It helps you to get a lot of issues clear at the outset - if you don't, these can cause arguments later.
- It helps you both to think about the future and how you see your relationship.
- If you do split up and go to court, the court will look at what you agreed together. The court may well uphold what was written in the agreement as long as it believes you were both honest with each other when you made it.
Does a living together agreement have to be in a set form?
No. There are several books you can buy with legal 'precedents' (templates, or guide forms) that you can use, but you can write the agreement in any way you like. The Advice Services Alliance website has practical advice about this (see 'Further help'). It would be a good idea to take legal advice to make sure the document covers all the important areas and is legally watertight. Make sure you both sign and date it, and keep a copy somewhere safe.
Having a child or changing your job or home could change the basis of your original agreement. If your lives change in a way that you did not foresee, you may need to change the agreement to reflect this. It is a good idea in any case to review the agreement every two or three years to make sure it still meets your needs and is fair.
5. When you are living together
6. If you or your partner dies
7. State benefits for people living together
11. Arrangements if you have children
13. Sorting out other items you own
15. Terms used in matters to do with living together
This leaflet is published by the Legal Service Commission (LSC). It was written in association with Imogen Clout, a solicitor specialising in family law.
Latest version: August 2006