Many people aren’t aware that living together, even for a long period of time, does not automatically grant you the same rights as a married couple.

Without a formal agreement, problems can arise if the relationship breaks down, including where family or friends purchase property together.

The breakdown of a relationship often has the same implications on finances and child arrangements as the ending of a marriage. However, when the couple are not married, the law can be more difficult to navigate.

Working with us, you can have absolute confidence that you will have an expert team dedicated to achieving the very best outcome for you and your family.

Many cohabiting couples make the mistake of assuming that, because they have lived together for a long time, they have the same claims to property and assets as married couples do. Currently, despite many appeals for change, “Common Law” marriage is not recognised by law. This means that, should your relationship break down, you could find yourself at a severe disadvantage financially and it is important to seek specialist advice to find out where you stand.

Offering expert advice and guidance, we will recommend a path that helps you take control of the situation and leads to a resolution that works for the situation you find yourself in.

Whatever your reason for coming to us, our first step is always to listen with patience so that we understand what has happened before and the issues that need to be resolved. 

Using our knowledge and experience we guarantee that we will be able to give you a range of options, with a detailed overview of the likely process, outcomes, timescales and costs.

The recommendations we make will always be specific to you, so whether you are dealing with issues relating to children, finances, property, or something else, our family team will help you come up with a plan that works.

What we do and where we specialise

If you are looking to move in together without wishing to marry, it is important to have a  clear and formal agreement to set out both parties’ interests and intentions is important to safeguard your assets and protect against a future dispute should the relationship breakdown.  We provide specialist advice on cohabitation agreements, also known as “living together” agreements, and also declarations of trust to reflect each party’s intentions and contributions to the purchase of a property.

If your relationship breakdowns you may require a separation agreement to deal with the financial and other issues that need to be resolved.  There may be a property dispute in respect of a party’s legal or beneficial interest in a property, perhaps arising from contributions that have been made and it is important to take specialist advice as to your legal rights. 

We are one of the few family law firms specialising in advising on these types of claims and we would strongly recommend that you consult a lawyer who has experience dealing with the civil proceedings which can arise with this type of claim, particularly as there can be significant cost consequences if matters are not address appropriately from the outset.

We specialise in providing advice on the following issues:

  • Declarations of trust
  • Cohabitation and separation agreements
  • Claims of unmarried couples, including those who were engaged
  • Property disputes regarding legal and beneficial interests and contributions
  • Financial claims on behalf of children, where parents are unmarried, known as Schedule One claims