Hopkins Law - Helping you prepare cohabitation agreements

Hopkins Law - Helping you prepare cohabitation agreements

There are currently over four million couples in England and Wales living together in cohabitation. It is a common misconception to think that, having lived with a partner for a couple of years, you become common law husband and wife, with the same rights as a married couple. This is not the case. In fact, couples who live together have hardly any of the same rights as married couples.

A cohabitation agreement is a legal document setting out the basis on which financial and other matters operate, as well as making provisions in the event things go wrong.

The Civil Partnership Act – helping you become a family

The Civil Partnership Act gives rights and obligations very similar to marriage. The rights resulting from the Act provide huge advantages for couples wishing to make a lifelong commitment to each other and form a civil union. It also has a wider impact helping to eliminate gay and lesbian discrimination. The legal benefits you can experience from a civil partnership include:

• Civil partners benefit from the same tax breaks as married couples
• Civil partners can claim parental responsibility for each other’s children in the same way as married couples
• Other than the omission of adultery, the dissolution process is the same as for divorce
• Financial settlements on dissolution of a civil partnership are the same as a divorce
• Pre-registration agreements are treated in the same way as pre-marriage agreements (prenuptials)

Our experienced team acknowledge that Civil Partnerships can be a complicated area and that many clients find the law confusing. Our Family Law experts are experienced in this field and regularly advise clients in relation to civil partnership law.

To discuss cohabitation agreements or civil partnerships further, please call on:

Central Cardiff – 029 2039 5888
Cowbridge – 01446 77 41 51