The start of a new relationship marks a happy and exciting time and often the beginning of some important life milestones
Moving in together, getting engaged, planning a wedding or civil partnership ceremony and expecting a baby may all be to follow. As you enjoy and cherish the present, you may wish to consider how you and your partner can lay a strong foundation for the relationship to continue growing, and safeguard your family and finances in case any problems arise in the future.
From cohabitation agreements, pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements to family business arrangements, our dedicated family lawyers will work closely with you to tailor the best course of action for the individual circumstances of your relationship.
Living together
Cohabitation agreements
If you plan to live together and are buying a property together, whether in equal or unequal shares, then you should think about what will happen to your property and any equity if you later separate. This is particularly important where children are involved. The agreement can also set out other important decisions such as childcare arrangements or how to share future significant purchases. Cohabitants are not as protected by law as married couples or those in a civil partnership. Drawing up a cohabitation agreement will formally record who owns what and how assets should be shared if the relationship comes to an end.
Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements
Pre-nuptial agreements
If you are engaged or planning a civil partnership or wedding, it is sensible to think about how your assets will become merged. Pre- and post-nuptial agreements can help clarify and safeguard the ownership of assets in case the relationship ends. Although these documents are not yet legally binding in England and Wales, they can be persuasive and offer helpful evidence if properly drafted and signed. There are some specific time requirements and other criteria that need to be met in order for the agreement to be given weight by the court when redistributing assets upon divorce or dissolution.
keeping it in the family
Family business arrangements
Where wealth and business interests are generated from a family business, it is important to consider how the business will be impacted by a future separation, dissolution or divorce of a director or shareholder. We work closely with our Corporate and Employment teams to protect the integrity of your business in every circumstance. We can also involve the business accountants and any other relevant professionals. The agreed course of action can be built not only into the fabric of the business through partnership or shareholder agreements, but also any living together or pre- or post-nuptial agreements. This way, business interests are preserved into the future.
marrying abroad
Statutory declarations
If you are marrying abroad, you will often be required to provide a statutory declaration for that country confirming your personal details and that you are free to marry. We can help with the drafting of the relevant documents. It is important that you first check with your tour operator, or the relevant embassy, to ensure you understand what detail is needed in your statutory declaration.
To ensure you get the best start to your new relationship, get in touch with our specialist family team today for a free, without obligation chat.
Prettys’ family team’s experience in this area has proven that dialogue is key. The best relationships are those where partners can have frank, open conversations and work through differences whilst listening to each other and reflecting upon their differing opinions without bearing a grudge. This way, you will learn more about your partner at the beginning, enabling you to build a solid foundation and relationship together.
If you are in need of legal advice when starting a new relationship, solicitors in Prettys’ specialist family team can help you. Contact us on 01473 232121, complete our contact form or send us an email via familylaw@prettys.co.uk.
Please note we do not offer legal aid but are always happy to talk over your case and fees.
FAQs
The first consideration is normally where to live, how a property is to be purchased and how outgoings will be paid. Sharing rent is rarely contentious, but matters can become more complicated if one of you owns the property you will live in, or, you purchase or maintain a property together in unequal contributions. It is sensible to think ahead and consider what might happen to property and assets if you should unfortunately separate in the future – at that point it may then be too late to protect yourself. A living together or cohabitation agreement can cover how the property is purchased, how outgoings are to be paid and how equity is to be shared in the future. We work with our Property team to ensure that you also have appropriate documentation in place from a conveyancing perspective to record the ownership and share of the property.
Broadly, you have a legal right to your share of any jointly-owned assets such as property or bank accounts. You may also have a beneficial interest in an asset not in your name (usually property) if you can prove that you have made a financial contribution, for example towards the mortgage on a house. A beneficial interest is not as certain as a legal right but can be established with documentary evidence of financial contribution. There have over the years been a number of cases seeking to determine what sort of contributions are relevant and so the details of your circumstances are important.
A cohabitation agreement (which is also known as a living together agreement) is a contractual document intended to be binding upon both of you that clarifies who owns the property, in what shares, and how it is to be dealt with if you should separate in the future. A cohabitation agreement can also record who is making what contributions to the outgoings of the property and whether or not those outgoings are intended to give the contributing person a financial interest in the property.
A civil partnership can be entered into by a same sex or heterosexual couple. The significant difference to marriage is the ceremonial aspect. For couples whose personal beliefs do not accord with marriage, civil partnership allows the same legal benefits as spouses without the need for a wedding. Pre-nups and post-nups can also be entered into. A civil partnership ceremony must still be legally registered in the same way as a marriage ceremony. A civil partnership is as legally binding as a marriage and the same financial claims exist for separating civil partners as they do for separating spouses. If the civil partnership ends, the couple dissolves the partnership rather than divorcing, though the process is very similar. It is sensible to take legal advice prior to the civil partnership, or if you separate, so that you are fully aware of legal and financial entitlement.
A pre-nup (also known as a pre-marital agreement) is a document made prior to marriage or civil partnership in which the couple indicate how they intend their assets to be divided should they later separate or divorce. They are most commonly seen where one party has significantly more assets than the other, or where it will be a second marriage or civil partnership and one or both of the couple have children from a previous relationship. Pre-nups can also record how assets acquired in the marriage will be divided. It is sensible to review and revise pre-nups at regular intervals after marriage or civil partnership. As pre-nups are legal documents, they do need to be drawn up by a solicitor.
As soon as you become engaged or are talking about marrying or entering into a civil partnership. Pre-nups are technical documents and can sometimes take a few weeks or months to negotiate, draft and agree. We encourage a couple to work round table with the help of our Talking Works service, as planning the document is a positive step in the relationship. Pre-nups should not be signed any later than 28 days before the ceremony and so early planning is essential.
A post-nup is a document made after marriage or civil partnership. It can be used where a pre-nup was intended but the couple ran out of time before the ceremony, or, where the couple do not have a pre-nup and wish to record how their assets will be divided in any later separation or divorce. A post-nup can be made at any time during a marriage and should be reviewed regularly – they can also be used to review and revise a pre-nup that was made before the marriage.
Talk to us as early as possible. Whether you are setting up a new business, expanding your business, or intending to distribute shares to your partner, it is important that you take legal advice. Thought should also be given to what happens if a partner, co-director, significant shareholder or key individual goes through a separation or divorce. This can have a significant and sometimes detrimental impact on the business. Our family team works closely with corporate and commercial colleagues to ensure that you and your business are future-proof within the detail of partnership or shareholder agreements.
