Family, collaborative Law and Mediation

LIVING TOGETHER AGREEMENTS

These arise before entering into a partnership or a civil partnership.

Parties entering into these agreements may wish to deal with a wide range of both financial and non-financial matters, e.g. how the children are to be brought up, schooling, religion and any number of other matters.

Where parties have been married before or lived together with other partners, have children from those previous relationships, and gathered assets that they wish to preserve for their families, they may wish to set out their wishes in an agreement.

Inheritance - Sometimes parties have received or will in due course receive an inheritance, which they wish their families to benefit from, and these issues can be regulated within the agreement.

The agreements are designed so that parties can then rely upon them in case of an unfortunate breakdown of their relationship
It is common that parties often accept matters need to be regulated, however they can often fall into difficulties when matters are not formally recorded.

It difficult to discuss these matters at the start of a relationship, even though they have been implied in their own minds for sometime. Sometimes at the time a breakdown, there will have been a mixing of funds and property and it can then be difficult to find middle ground.

Agreements before parties live together are an important aid to ensuring, if at all possible, that the parties’ assets remain theirs, if the marriage fails or the relationship ends.

Children can be provided for. Parties often want their own family to benefit from their assets or a large proportion of them. The agreement can set out what assets are to go to their children.

Changes. The circumstances in any marriage or where parties live together do change, by example children may become part of the family and in those sorts of situations it is very important to ensure that these agreements are reviewed. It is also very important that there is plenty of time given to consider any agreement and it is recommended that such agreements should not be made fewer than 21 days before any marriage or before you live together so that parties have time to reflect.

Independent legal advice. It is very important that parties do seek or have the opportunity to seek advice upon the issues to be included within the agreement.

For further information on pre-nuptial or living together agreements please contact us and we will be happy to explain further.

TELEPHONE: 0800 135 7917 (No Charge)