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You are here: Home / How To... / What does a cohabitation agreement look like?

What does a cohabitation agreement look like?

By Amanda

For the most part, couples can form their cohabitation agreements how they like, so that there’s no set standard for what must be included. An agreement may cover day-to-day activities such as grocery shopping or taking out the trash. Or it may just cover the big stuff: how rent and utility bills will be divided, whether the couple will purchase real estate together, or whether they will combine finances.

A good cohabitation agreement will also set out what the parties’ rights and responsibilities will be if/when they break up. For example, it will detail how finances will be severed and property distributed. It may also provide for “palimony” (like post-divorce spousal support, but for unmarried couples) if, say, one partner supported the other financially through the relationship.

Cohabitation agreements can be very simple. However, if the couple have a significant amount of property between them (particularly if it’s mostly one-sided), they may want to get the help of an attorney.

Most cohabitation agreements hold up in court under contracts law. However, a court will not enforce clauses contingent on sexual services — that’s illegal. Such a clause will always be invalidated by the court, and the court may even use it to strike out the cohabitation agreement as a whole.

A cohabitation agreement may also become invalid if the couple subsequently married. Cohabiting couples who decide to marry should redraft their cohabitation agreement as a prenup — even if it has essentially the same provisions, a court will look more kindly on it if it has the right name and format.

 

Photo credit: maureen lunn

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