To dispel confusion and mitigate anticipated conflicts during the eventuality that the relationship will end, an agreement called Cohabitation Agreement is signed between two persons who find themselves located within the same domicile out of their own free will without any marriage certificates. The contract defines the ownership, usage, and disposal of the jointly owned or earned assets as well as individual obligations concerning finances and any other thing needed for their peaceful coexistence in society.
Key Components of a Cohabitation Agreement
Following are some of the key elements that every agreement related to cohabitation must have.
Identification of Parties
Purpose of the Agreement
Property Ownership and Division
Financial Arrangements
Debt Responsibility
Support and Maintenance
Health and Medical Decisions
Dispute Resolution
Termination of Agreement
Miscellaneous Provisions
Signatures
Types of Cohabitation Agreements
Here are some of the common types of agreements in practice.
Basic Cohabitation Agreement
Comprehensive Cohabitation Agreement
Property-Specific Cohabitation Agreement
Financial Cohabitation Agreement
Temporary Cohabitation Agreement
A Cohabitation Agreement is crucial for ensuring clarity and fairness in a cohabitation relationship, providing legal protection and peace of mind for both parties. It’s advisable for individuals to seek legal advice when drafting a cohabitation agreement to ensure that it is comprehensive, fair, and enforceable.
Here are previews and download links for these free templates that I have prepared using MS Word.
The traditional style of the Cohabitation Agreement was comprised of three parts. The initial part was about the description of the parties. In this section, it is necessary to talk to the parties about their relationship and how did it begin. To understand this part sometimes requires the presence of a family law expert.
The financial aspects of the deal were looked at in the second part. For the financial protection of both parties, an agreement on a certain amount has to be made in this part. This amount can be referred to as “the basic” amount. You are free to increase the basic amount annually based on the length of your contract.
The other part was what spells out what each person must do. It is not difficult to understand this part. It states all the responsibilities that each partner has and his/her respective duties. In the case of education, for example, each couple should ensure their children get proper education. It must be spelled out by the Agreement on how such payments will take place. At any point in time when a marriage ends with divorce then all obligations are also terminated and both parties would have to revert back where they began from.
