Family Law - Living Together

People often ask many questions about how the law can help them in this situation. The following information explains more about living together:

Can I arrange to protect my interests before we start living together?
Nobody wants to think about the end of a relationship as you are about to start living together, but you could make some simple arrangements to protect your interests in the future. We will be able to advise you how to protect your interests before you either buy or rent a property together.

What are the differences between living together and being married?
The main difference between co-habiting and being married is that there is full legislation to deal with the separation or divorce of married couples, there are no such law governing cohabiting.

Separating after living together
If matters can be settled without the need to go to Court, it will generally be better for the parties involved, and certainly less expensive.

What happens to the children if we are not married and decide to separate?
For unmarried parents the mother will automatically gain parental responsibility. The father will have to either enter into an agreement with the mother or apply to the Court to gain parental responsibility. There are a number of instances where the agreement of all those with parental responsibility is required, for example to change the name of a child or to take them out of the country permanently.

What happens to our home if we separate after living together?
As there are no specific laws, proceedings are decided very much, on the basis of what contribution each partner made whilst they were living together. If the house is in the sole name of your partner this does not mean that you have no legal interest in the property if you have been contributing to the mortgage. If, for example, a property was jointly owned and each partner made an equal contribution to the upkeep of the property, it would be fair to say that they are entitled to half of the net equity if they separate.

We can advise you of your rights if the house needs to be sold and whether you should move out your home.

What about other things like the furniture?
Again there are no specific laws and it will depend upon the individual circumstances, but we will be able to help advise you regarding ownership disputes over furniture, jewellery, etc.