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Difference between revisions of "Cohabitation and Living Together Agreements"

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Cohabitation and Living Together Agreements (view source)

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The point of entering into a cohabitation agreement is so that, at some later time, the contract will be enforceable in court if the parties fail to live up to it. As such, a cohabitation agreement, just like any other family law agreement, must conform to certain basic rules, including the following:
The point of entering into a cohabitation agreement is so that, at some later time, the contract will be enforceable in court if the parties fail to live up to it. As such, a cohabitation agreement, just like any other family law agreement, must conform to certain basic rules, including the following:


A cohabitation agreement must be set out in writing.
*A cohabitation agreement must be set out in writing.
The agreement should be signed by each party in the presence of a witness.
*The agreement must be signed by each party, and should be signed in the presence of a witness.
The parties shouldn't be under the age of majority or suffer from any other legal disability.
*The parties shouldn't be under a legal disability.
The agreement must clearly identify the parties and the nature of their rights and obligations to one another.
*The agreement must clearly identify the parties and the nature of their rights and obligations to one another.
In addition to these simple formalities of a proper family law agreement, certain principles of contract law should also be considered, including the following:


The parties must each enter into the agreement of their own free will, without any coercion or duress by the other party, or by anyone else.
In addition to these simple formalities of a proper family law agreement, certain principles of contract law should also be considered, including these:
Both parties must make full and complete disclosure of their circumstances going into the agreement.
The parties cannot make an illegal bargain, that is, they can't form an agreement which obliges them to do something illegal or otherwise against the law.
Where an agreement is prepared by one party's lawyer and the other party doesn't have a lawyer, any portions of the agreeement that are vague may be interpreted in favour of the party who didn't have the lawyer.
The court will attempt to give effect to a contract wherever possible, that is, they will attempt to give meaning to the terms of a contract rather than declare it void.
If a term of a cohabitation agreement is found to be invalid, only the invalid part of the agreement fails. The remainder of the agreement will continue to be valid and binding on the parties.
Aside from these considerations, it is also important to remember that cohabitation agreements dealing with assets or issues like spousal support are usually only meant to be used when the relationship comes to an end, at some uncertain time in the future. While separation agreements are intended to work immediately from the moment they are signed, cohabitation agreements aren't usually intended to work until some unknown future date. As a result, it can be extremely difficult to guess what each party's situation will be like in the future and decide whether the agreement will remain appropriate, fair and relevant to their circumstances. Because of these problems, hiring the services of a lawyer to prepare the agreement is highly recommended. Crafting a solid cohabitation agreement is a tricky business at the best of times.


Finally, you should also know that the courts will rarely — if ever — uphold an agreement which attempts to contract out of a statutory obligation. Child support, for example, is a positive, almost absolute obligation a parent has towards his or her children. A court is not likely to allow an agreement to stand which provides that a parent will never have to pay child support who would otherwise be obliged to provide support.
*The parties must each enter into the agreement of their own free will, without any coercion or duress by the other party, or by anyone else for that matter.
*Both parties must make full and complete disclosure of their circumstances going into the agreement.
*The parties cannot make an illegal bargain, that is, they can't make an agreement which obliges them to do something against the law.
*Where an agreement is prepared by one party's lawyer and the other party doesn't have a lawyer, any portions of the agreement that are vague may be interpreted in favour of the party who didn't have the lawyer.
*The court will attempt to give effect to a contract wherever possible, that is, they will attempt to give meaning to the terms of a contract rather than declare it void.
*If a term of a cohabitation agreement is found to be invalid, only the invalid part of the agreement will stop being in effect. The remainder of the agreement will continue to be valid and binding on the parties.
 
Aside from these considerations, it is also important to remember that cohabitation agreements dealing with property and debts or issues like spousal support are usually only meant to be used when the relationship comes to an end, at some unknown time in the future. As a result, it can be difficult to guess what each party's situation will be like when the agreement begins to operate and guess whether it will still be appropriate and fair. Because of these problems, hiring the services of a lawyer to prepare a cohabitation agreement is highly recommended. Crafting a solid cohabitation agreement is a tricky business at the best of times.


==Further Reading in this Chapter==
==Further Reading in this Chapter==
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