Protecting the Interests of Unmarried Partners Who Live Together
Regardless of the reasons — practical, principled or otherwise — that can lead people to live together on intimate terms without marrying, the breakup of a domestic partnership can present serious problems for the people involved.
Nevertheless, few people anticipate these problems before moving in or buying property together, and they later come to realise that UK law offers little by way of guidance for disentangling the financial interests of people terminating a cohabitation relationship. If you need advice about the financial aspects of a breakup, contact Boscos Solicitors in Leeds.
Leeds Cohabitation Agreement and Property Division Solicitors
As specialist divorce and family law solicitors, we work with clients in Yorkshire, Greater London and the rest of England to help with the property distribution issues that can accompany the termination of a domestic partnership.
When a valid cohabitation agreement is in effect, the people who thought ahead to define their rights and responsibilities with respect to shared property, commingled finances and common liabilities benefit a great deal from their foresight. They will be able to take full advantage of general principles of contract law to enforce the arrangements they have made for themselves.
People who have no written agreement in place to define their respective interests in shared property, bank accounts, personal property, motor vehicles or other goods are in a more vulnerable position. The person who holds formal title to a particular asset will have the initial advantage in keeping the whole of it, but the other person who claims an interest under any of several legal theories might be able to establish a right to partial ownership, usually based on financial contributions toward a mortgage loan.
Call a UK Property Distribution Lawyer: 0808 231 6781
There is no longer any recognition of common-law marriage in the UK, so property distribution based on those principles will be entirely unavailable under all but the most unusual circumstances. Our lawyers will consider such legal principles as resulting trust, constructive trust, implied contract or promissory estoppel to find the best way to characterise and document your claim or to defend a claim presented against you.
As well as helping cohabiting persons unwind their financial interests when it's time to break up a domestic partnership, our lawyers also advise people about their options for expressing their intentions in a cohabitation agreement or prenuptial agreement. At a minimum, people should consider written contracts to protect their interests when they buy a house or other property together outside of marriage.
For more information about the range of legal services we offer to people who live together, contact Boscos Solicitors in Leeds or Wetherby.
