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Couples are increasingly living together, rather
than marrying.
Many people believe that in doing so, they are
“common law” man and wife. There is, however, no such thing
legally as a common law man and wife. There is also there is no law
equivalent to the divorce law upon which you can rely.
There is no such thing as common law man
and wife.
The Government has openly said that it will be
2012 at the earliest before it considers making any new laws to
protect couples who live together by giving them enhanced legal
rights.
Some couples live together for many years before
they separate, have children together, share the payment of
household bills, contribute to pensions and buy assets such as cars,
shares or savings policies. These relationships are very
complex to sort out legally when couples split up.
There is no law equivalent to the
divorce law
which can be relied upon. But issues regarding how much you would be
entitled to from property you own when separating, may involve court
proceedings that could otherwise have been avoided.
A Cohabitation Agreement
This is a legal document which sets out what assets each of you
have, what you each intend in terms of acquiring rights in property
and how the bills are to be paid. We can prepare a
cohabitation agreement for you if you have an arrangement with your
partner about money and property.
Such an agreement is clear evidence of your
intentions when you started out together and if court proceedings do
need to be issued when you separate, a judge will attach a great
deal of importance to the agreement.
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0845
009 5639
