Our Francine Bristo deals with the importance of discussing financial matters with your partner or spouse.

Most couples don’t make the time to have a conversation about the finances because it can lead to increased tension and arguments.  Money is emotional, evoking feelings of shame, fear, anger and frustration.  It is no wonder that people avoid talking about money and what would happen in the event of their relationship ending.  Ignoring these issues whilst they are small however, allows them to grow into larger problems.  There is nothing worse than dealing with the emotion of money combined with the emotion of separation.   It is better to discuss the finances and what would happen if you were to separate whilst you are on good terms.  Conversations help avoid misunderstandings and later upset.  It is useful for everyone to clarify the terms of your financial relationship so that you each understand the expectations,

I am not sure what to do next ?

When you enter a relationship and you become close you may inevitably think about living together and/or having children together. What sort of things should you consider? Disputes can arise out of quite trivial disagreements initially. What steps can you take to prevent this from happening?

If you buy a home together and it is put into joint names, what steps can you take to protect your respective interests? Has one of you paid or about to pay a significantly greater share of the deposit? Can you protect that money? If the house is going to be in one person’s name (for example one of you has a poor credit history or are self-employed) should you consider a Living Together Agreement? Whilst this may increase your initial costs at a time when you cannot necessarily afford to incur those costs the consequences financially

Cohabitation is increasingly popular in modern society where more and more couples are deciding that the traditional bonds of marriage are either too expensive, too formal, too restrictive or are simply unnecessary. It is often the case that couples who cohabit don’t even consider the legal implications of their partnership and of those that do, many assume — wrongly as it turns out — that in the event of separation, they will be legally protected because they are in what is known as a “common law marriage”. In reality, no such thing actually exists, or at least it is not legally recognised.

In fact, separation cases where couples have not been married can be very complex, especially if the couple in question have children.

Where children are concerned…

Mothers automatically have what is known as Parental Responsibility (PR) for their children. Fathers will also have PR in cases where they are married to

In essence, what a prenup is to getting married, a cohabitation or living together agreement is to living together. A living together agreement is as it sounds: a simple agreement that protects assets that were acquired before you began to live together. It also details how you will share any assets and debts acquired whilst living together, and often includes how you will share the costs of cohabiting.

Living together agreements can cover everything from physical property to financial assets, from child support to who gets to keep the cat. It isn’t very romantic, but it can save a lot of heartache, not to mention a lot of money paying for a costly court case if it all goes wrong and you’re totally unprepared.

What does a standard agreement say?

A standard living together agreement tends to specify the following:

* that pre-living together assets such as the home they share remain the

A survey of Members of Parliament has revealed that 69% agree there is a mistaken belief in the existence of ‘common law marriage’ and that 57% believe the law needs to be changed to provide greater protection for unmarried couples upon separation.

The survey was commissioned by Resolution and it reveals that cohabitation is the fastest growing family type in the UK, yet there is little or no protection for couples should they separate. In 2012, there were 5.9m people cohabiting in the UK, double the 1996 figure.  Responding to the survey’s findings, Steve Kirwan, who leads Resolution’s work on cohabitation, said:

“This poll of MPs confirms the findings of a public survey in 2008, in which 51% of respondents believed, incorrectly, that cohabitants had the same rights as married couples”

For advice on Living Together Agreements or your potential claims upon separation from your partner please contact Amanda Weaver by email or telephone.

More and more couples are choosing to live together rather than getting married. The problem though is upon separation cohabiting unmarried couples do not have the same claims against each other as married couples do. For some this may be the appeal as they do not want their partner to have any claims against their assets should the relationship fail but for others they may THINK they have similar claims to married couples when they don’t.

If you own your home in your sole name and your partner moves in with you it would be sensible to have a Living Together Agreement drawn up and this puts the financial arrangements on a more formal footing.  The Agreement will set out who is responsible for paying the mortgage and household bills and sets out what happens to the property in the event of a separation – does the non legal owner have a share in

According to the Office for National Statistics there is a significant increase, 34% in the number of cohabiting couples with dependent children in the ten years to 2011.  The Report says that the number of cohabiting families with dependent children increased by 292,000 whilst married couples with dependant children fell by 319,000 in this 10 year period.

The Report suggests that rather than cohabitation being a ‘trial run’ before marriage it is a replacement for marriage.

The research shows a shift in attitude from the more traditional view that couples should be married before having children.

The Report also acknowledged that cohabiting couple families appear to be less stable than married couple families as there is a higher proportion of all family breakdowns involving young children from unmarried parents.

Those participating in the survey were also asked about their understanding of legal rights of cohabiting couples compared to married couples.  Over a quarter questioned

There is an interesting article in The Telegraph that I thought I’d share with you.  A ‘lifestyle guru’ to celebrities is being sued by his ex partner who claimed to be his ‘common law wife’ for a payout following the breakdown of their relationship.

Their relationship lasted 15 years and they had a son together.  The guru Mr Brown owned the home they shared in his sole name and he also had a collection of Jaguar cars and earned royalties from two of his books.  They never married but Ms Brown his ex partner claims to be his ‘common law wife’.  She said Mr Brown told her that she need not worry as she was protected as a common law wife and that they both owned 50 per cent of the property and other assets they went on to purchase.  Mr Brown claims he never referred to Ms Brown as his common law wife and