Your Industry  

How to advise unmarried, cohabiting couples

  • Explain how rights of a married couple compare to a cohabiting couple
  • Explain how property ownership is determined in a separation
  • Explain how a cohabiting agreement is drawn up
CPD
Approx.30min

By

It is important to note that cohabitation agreements on the other hand are not legally binding and thus not enforceable.

The uncertainty about whether the terms of an agreement can be upheld and enforced by the court is another reason why there needs to be changes in the law in the UK to reflect today’s society and that agreements regulating finances and property affairs between cohabitees should be protected and enforced. 

Article continues after advert

Charlotte Coyle is a senior associate at Goodman Derrick 

CPD
Approx.30min

Please answer the six multiple choice questions below in order to bank your CPD. Multiple attempts are available until all questions are correctly answered.

  1. Ture or false, unlike some EU countries, the law in the UK does not acknowledge the rights of a cohabiting couple.

  2. If there is a dispute regarding how the property is dealt with upon separation, and a settlement cannot be reached either through negotiation or alternative dispute resolution (ADR), the route to any resolution will likely be an acrimonious and costly one as they have to pursue their claim through the:

  3. True or false, if an unmarried/cohabiting couple separates, one thing to remember is that neither of them automatically acquires a legal interest in assets, including property, held by the other regardless of how long they have lived together.

  4. What does ‘beneficial interest’ mean when it comes to division of property assets for co-habiting couples who are separating?

  5. Under what circumstance is the partner who is not the legal owner of the property more likely to acquire a ‘beneficial interest’ in it?

  6. What is NOT one of the terms mentioned by Charlotte Coyle that can be drawn into a cohabitation agreement?

Nearly There…

You have successfully answered all the questions correctly, well done!

You should now know…

  • Explain how rights of a married couple compare to a cohabiting couple
  • Explain how property ownership is determined in a separation
  • Explain how a cohabiting agreement is drawn up

I completed this CPD in

To bank your CPD please complete the form below.

Were the stated learning objectives met?

Why weren't they met?

What did you learn from undertaking this CPD exercise?

Why did you undertake this piece of learning?

Any comments about this article or FTAdviser's CPD in general?

Banked!

Congratulations, you have successfully completed and banked this piece of CPD

Already Banked!

You have already banked for this article.

To bank your CPD you must or

Register

One or more questions have been incorrectly answered,
 please review your answers and try again.

By submitting these answers I confirm that I have
read and agreed to the terms and conditions

Please complete all the above text fields to bank your CPD.

More Your Industry CPDSee my completed CPDSee all CPD

More on Your Industry