Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment: Free Tem­plate

A Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment is a legal doc­u­ment used by un­mar­ried couples in the UK who live to­geth­er, out­lining their fin­an­cial and prop­erty ar­range­ments.

Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment defines how:

• assets,
• prop­erty,
• debts, and
• house­hold ex­penses

will be handled during the re­la­tion­ship and, im­port­antly, what will happen if the re­la­tion­ship ends or one part­ner dies.

Reas­ons to Create a Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment

In the UK, co­hab­it­ing part­ners do not have the same legal rights as mar­ried couples or civil part­ners, which can lead to sig­ni­fic­ant chal­lenges if the re­la­tion­ship ends or one part­ner passes away. As more couples choose to live to­geth­er without get­ting mar­ried, the need for legal pro­tec­tion be­comes in­creas­ingly im­port­ant.

A Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment offers a clear and leg­ally bind­ing way to out­line each part­ner’s rights and re­spons­ib­il­it­ies, provid­ing se­cur­ity and peace of mind for both parties.

Living to­geth­er often in­volves shared ex­penses, such as rent, mort­gage pay­ments, util­ity bills, and house­hold pur­chases. A Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment helps to cla­ri­fy who is re­spons­ible for what, en­sur­ing that both part­ners are on the same page fin­an­cially.

If you’ve ac­cu­mu­lated assets before moving in to­geth­er or expect to re­ceive sig­ni­fic­ant assets in the future, a Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment can pro­tect these assets in the event of a break­up. This in­cludes prop­erty, sav­ings, in­vest­ments, and other valu­able pos­ses­sions.

If you have or plan to have chil­dren to­geth­er, a Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment can out­line par­ent­al re­spons­ib­il­it­ies, in­clud­ing fin­an­cial sup­port and child­care ar­range­ments. This en­sures that both part­ners un­der­stand their ob­lig­a­tions, which can help pre­vent dis­putes later on.

Guides to Create a Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment

Cre­at­ing a Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment in­volves sev­er­al key steps.

Before draft­ing the agree­ment, have an open and honest con­ver­sa­tion with your part­ner about your fin­an­cial situ­ation, assets, and ex­pect­a­tions. Dis­cuss what should happen in vari­ous scen­ari­os, such as a break­up, ill­ness, or death.

The Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment should In­clude

• Fin­an­cial Con­tri­bu­tions: How will you share ex­penses like rent, mort­gage, bills, and gro­cer­ies?
• Prop­erty Own­er­ship: Who owns what? What hap­pens to jointly owned prop­erty if you split up?
• Chil­dren: How will you handle child­care, edu­ca­tion, and fin­an­cial sup­port?
• Debts: Who is re­spons­ible for any debts in­curred during the re­la­tion­ship?
• Dis­pute Res­ol­u­tion: How will you re­solve any dis­agree­ments?

It’s es­sen­tial to seek legal advice to ensure that your Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment is fair, leg­ally bind­ing, and tailored to your spe­cif­ic needs. A so­li­cit­or can help you draft or review the agree­ment to ensure it meets all legal re­quire­ments.

Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment – Tem­plate

⚠️ Please note that this tem­plate for Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment is a gen­er­al tem­plate and should be cus­tom­ised to suit your spe­cif­ic cir­cum­stances. It's always ad­vis­able to seek legal advice before fi­nal­ising any legal doc­u­ment.

CO­HAB­IT­A­TION AGREE­MENT

This Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment is made on [Date] between the fol­low­ing parties:

Party 1: [Full Name] of [Ad­dress]
Party 2: [Full Name] of [Ad­dress]

(Here­in­after re­ferred to as "the Parties").

1. Pur­pose of the Agree­ment

This Agree­ment is in­ten­ded to record the fin­an­cial and prop­erty ar­range­ments between the Parties who are co­hab­it­ing or intend to co­hab­it to­geth­er at [Ad­dress of Prop­erty]. This Agree­ment re­flects their mutual un­der­stand­ing re­gard­ing their re­spect­ive rights and ob­lig­a­tions during their co­hab­it­a­tion and in the event of a sep­ar­a­tion or the death of either Party.

2. Prop­erty Own­er­ship

Own­er­ship of the Prop­erty: The prop­erty loc­ated at [Ad­dress] is owned by [Party 1 / Party 2 / Both Parties].

Fin­an­cial Con­tri­bu­tions: The Parties agree to share the costs as­so­ci­ated with the prop­erty, in­clud­ing mort­gage pay­ments, rent, util­it­ies, main­ten­ance, and re­pairs, in the fol­low­ing pro­por­tions:

• [Party 1] will con­trib­ute: [per­cent­age or amount]
• [Party 2] will con­trib­ute: [per­cent­age or amount]

Sale of the Prop­erty: In the event of sep­ar­a­tion or if the Parties agree to sell the prop­erty, the net pro­ceeds from the sale will be dis­trib­uted as fol­lows:

• [Per­cent­age or share based on con­tri­bu­tions or joint own­er­ship]

3. Assets and Debts

Joint Assets: Any assets pur­chased jointly will remain owned equally by the Parties unless oth­er­wise agreed in writ­ing.

Per­son­al Assets: Assets ac­quired in­di­vidu­ally by either Party before or during the co­hab­it­a­tion shall remain their sole prop­erty.

Debts: Any debts in­curred in­di­vidu­ally by either Party shall remain the sole re­spons­ib­il­ity of the person who in­curred them unless agreed oth­er­wise in writ­ing.

4. House­hold Ex­penses

The Parties agree to share house­hold ex­penses (e.g., util­it­ies, gro­cer­ies, in­sur­ance, and other living costs) as fol­lows:

• [Party 1] will con­trib­ute: [per­cent­age or amount]
• [Party 2] will con­trib­ute: [per­cent­age or amount]

5. Bank Ac­counts

The Parties may choose to open a joint bank ac­count for house­hold ex­penses. Con­tri­bu­tions to the joint ac­count will be made as fol­lows:

• [Party 1] will con­trib­ute: [per­cent­age or amount]
• [Party 2] will con­trib­ute: [per­cent­age or amount]

Any per­son­al ac­counts shall remain in the sole own­er­ship of the ac­count holder.

6. Sep­ar­a­tion or Death

In the event of sep­ar­a­tion or death:

Sep­ar­a­tion: The Parties agree to divide their shared assets and li­ab­il­it­ies ac­cord­ing to the terms of this Agree­ment. Any dis­agree­ments shall be re­solved through me­di­ation before re­sort­ing to legal action.

Death: The Parties should each create a Will to spe­cify how their assets will be dis­trib­uted upon death. This Agree­ment does not re­place a valid Will.

7. Amend­ments to this Agree­ment

This Agree­ment can be amended only by mutual writ­ten con­sent of both Parties.

8. Gov­ern­ing Law

This Agree­ment is gov­erned by the laws of Eng­land and Wales.

9. Sig­na­tures

The Parties have read and un­der­stood this Agree­ment and agree to the terms out­lined above.

Party 1:
[Sig­na­ture] _______________________
[Full Name]
Date: _____________________________

Party 2:
[Sig­na­ture] _______________________
[Full Name]
Date: _____________________________

Wit­ness 1:
[Sig­na­ture] _______________________
[Full Name]
Date: _____________________________

Wit­ness 2:
[Sig­na­ture] _______________________
[Full Name]
Date: _____________________________

⚠️ The Agree­ment must be signed by both parties in the pres­ence of in­de­pend­ent wit­nesses.

💡 To sim­pli­fy the pro­cess, con­sider using a legal tem­plate. Aatos will soon offer a com­pre­hens­ive Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment tem­plate de­signed spe­cific­ally for UK couples. This tem­plate will help you cover all the es­sen­tial as­pects and ensure that your agree­ment is leg­ally sound.

Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment Brings Peace of Mind

A Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment is a vital doc­u­ment for couples living to­geth­er in the UK. It offers pro­tec­tion, clar­ity, and peace of mind by clearly de­fin­ing each part­ner’s rights and re­spons­ib­il­it­ies.

By taking the time to create a Co­hab­it­a­tion Agree­ment, you can avoid po­ten­tial dis­putes and ensure that both part­ners feel secure in the re­la­tion­ship.