You and your partner love each other, but you both decided that you never wanted to get married. However, you are living together like you are a married couple. You share bank accounts, credit cards, and investments, make financial decisions as a team, have a retirement account for the both of you, and perhaps you have kids together.
Now, you’re wondering whether or not you need a cohabitation agreement. To help you decide, here are the benefits of having one in place.
You Can Avoid a Legal Mess
If you and your partner were to split up and there wasn’t an agreement in place, things may get heated and you’ll both may have to hire lawyers. This would be extremely complicated since you don’t have a legal agreement in place. By creating a cohabitation agreement, you can sort out any legal issues now and save a ton of time, money, and energy that you’d have to spend later if you didn’t have an agreement.
You Can Protect Your Finances
With a cohabitation agreement, you can protect your property and ensure that you will be financially stable following your split. You and your partner can decide how you’re going to divide up property that you share, and you can protect property that is exclusively yours.
You Can Add in Other Provisions
In your agreement, you can also request to add in things that don’t have to do with money. This could include child visitation and custody rights, for instance. All you need to do is ask your lawyer what you can incorporate.
Contacting Richard P. Arthur
Richard P. Arthur, Attorney at Law, can help you create a cohabitation agreement that will be legal and valid. You can call 937-254-3738 for a consultation. He has nearly three decades of experience assisting clients in Dayton and Trotwood, as well as Montgomery, Greene, Miami, Clark, and Warren counties.