Free Cohabitation Agreement Template

COHABITATION AGREEMENT

Living Together Agreement  ·  England And Wales  ·  Executed As A Deed

This Cohabitation Agreement (this "Agreement") is executed as a deed on 2026-03-09 between Oliver James Dawson of 14 Maple Street, Brighton BN1 3AB ("Partner 1") and Priya Anjali Sharma of 14 Maple Street, Brighton BN1 3AB ("Partner 2"). The parties are cohabiting at 14 Maple Street, Brighton BN1 3AB from 2024-01-01. The parties enter into this Agreement recording their intentions regarding property, finances and other matters during and on the termination of their cohabitation.

The parties acknowledge that there is no statutory regime governing the financial consequences of cohabitation in the United Kingdom (see the Law Commission Report No. 307 (2007), "Cohabitation: The Financial Consequences of Relationship Breakdown", which has not been implemented; the Law Commission Scoping Report on Financial Remedies (18 December 2024) flagged cohabitation reform as a potential follow-up but no enactment has yet occurred) and that "common-law marriage" is a misconception and confers no legal rights.

Accordingly, the parties enter into this Agreement on a contractual basis to define their respective rights and obligations during the cohabitation and in the event of separation or death. This Agreement is intended to be legally binding. It is drafted with reference to the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA), section 53(1)(b) of the Law of Property Act 1925, the Family Law Act 1996, Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989, and the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, and to the common-law principles set out in Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17 and Jones v Kernott [2011] UKSC 53.

The parties declare that the shared home is jointly owned by both partners as beneficial tenants in common in unequal shares: Partner 1 holds 60% and Partner 2 holds 40%.

This clause is intended to take effect as a declaration of trust for the purposes of section 53(1)(b) of the Law of Property Act 1925. The parties intend that this declaration shall be conclusive of their beneficial interests and shall displace any contrary inference drawn from conduct or financial contributions, consistent with the approach in Stack v Dowden, Jones v Kernott and Goodman v Gallant [1986] Fam 106.

Capital contributions: Partner 1 contributed £45,000 to the purchase / deposit. Partner 2 contributed £30,000 to the purchase / deposit.

The parties agree that Oliver shall pay the mortgage. Priya shall pay utilities, council tax and broadband. All other household expenses shall be split equally. Each party shall maintain separate personal bank accounts and neither party shall have access to the other's individual accounts.

Mortgage: Partner 1 shall be solely responsible for mortgage payments on the shared home.

Each party shall retain sole ownership of their own personal assets, whether held before or acquired during the cohabitation, including (without limitation) bank accounts in their sole name, personal possessions, vehicles registered in their name, pension rights, business interests and investments. Assets acquired during cohabitation shall belong to the party who purchased them unless a clear written intention to the contrary is recorded.

On separation, one party may buy out the other's share at the prevailing open-market value. The parties shall instruct a jointly appointed RICS surveyor to value the property, and the purchasing party shall have 90 days from the date of the valuation within which to complete the purchase. If the parties are renting, the party wishing to leave shall give not less than 2 months' written notice to the other, and the parties shall co-operate with the landlord on any deed of assignment or surrender.

Either party may apply for an occupation order under sections 33 or 36 of the Family Law Act 1996 where appropriate, and this Agreement shall not preclude or restrict any application under that Act (including for a non-molestation order under s.42).

Labrador Retriever "Buddy" (microchip 900215000123456) is solely owned by Oliver Dawson. Priya shall have no interest in or responsibility for Buddy on separation.

On separation, ownership of any pet shall follow the record of ownership (including microchip registration and veterinary records) or, if jointly held, the parties shall agree suitable arrangements having regard to the animal's welfare under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Each party shall remain solely responsible for their own pre-existing debts and liabilities. No party shall be liable to creditors of the other for debts incurred before the cohabitation began or for debts incurred in the other's sole name during the cohabitation without their express written consent. The parties confirm there is no joint and several liability save as expressly agreed in writing.

Any inheritance, legacy or gift received by either party during the cohabitation shall remain the sole property of the receiving party and shall not form part of any shared or pooled assets, subject only to any express written agreement to the contrary.

In the event of the death of one partner, the surviving partner shall have the right to remain in the shared property for a period of six (6) months from the date of death to enable alternative arrangements to be made, subject to the terms of any will of the deceased and the rights of the deceased's estate.

The parties acknowledge that cohabitees are NOT intestacy beneficiaries and that, after two (2) years of continuous cohabitation immediately preceding the death, the surviving cohabitee has standing to apply for reasonable financial provision from the deceased's estate under section 1(1A) of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The parties are strongly advised to make and keep under review valid wills recording any intended provision for one another.

Each party undertakes to make and keep in force a valid will recording reasonable provision for the other party, having regard to the parties' agreed financial arrangements under this Agreement. Each party shall provide the other with a copy (or summary) of the relevant will and any update on request. Failure to make or maintain such a will shall not invalidate this Agreement but shall be a material factor a court may consider on any application by the survivor under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. This Agreement does NOT itself constitute a "mutual wills" arrangement (which requires more formal language under Re Dale [1994] Ch 31); the parties are encouraged to obtain separate advice if true mutual-wills protection is desired.

The parties agree to review this Agreement every two (2) years and otherwise on the occurrence of any material change of circumstances. Birth of a child is a particular trigger because it materially alters the property and financial dynamic of the relationship (Children Act 1989 Schedule 1 financial-provision rights cannot be fettered). Any variation shall be in writing and executed as a deed, each party having taken further independent legal advice.

Additional review triggers agreed by the parties: Material change in either party's income or net worth (>20% movement); Serious long-term illness or disability of either party; Either party becoming resident outside the United Kingdom for more than 12 consecutive months.

The parties expressly acknowledge that the surviving cohabitee retains the right to apply for reasonable financial provision from the deceased's estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, subject to the 2-year continuous-cohabitation eligibility test in section 1(1A). The terms of this Agreement (including any agreed retention of pre-cohabitation assets and any "survivor stays" period) shall be brought to the attention of any court hearing such an application as a material factor under section 3(2) IPFDA 1975. Nothing in this Agreement purports to or shall be construed as excluding the surviving cohabitee's statutory right of application under the 1975 Act.

The parties acknowledge that, irrespective of the terms of this Agreement, either party may at any time apply for: (a) an occupation order under sections 33 or 36 of the Family Law Act 1996; or (b) a non-molestation order under section 42 of the Family Law Act 1996, where the conduct of the other party, or the circumstances of the parties or any relevant child, warrant such an order. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as excluding or limiting any such statutory right. Both parties confirm that the relationship is not, at the date of this Agreement, characterised by any pattern of domestic abuse and that this Agreement is entered into freely and without coercive control (Serious Crime Act 2015 s.76).

Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall first be referred to mediation with an accredited family mediator (Resolution / Family Mediation Council). If mediation is unsuccessful within 90 days, either party may pursue legal proceedings in the courts of England and Wales, including applications under section 14 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996.

The parties acknowledge the Family Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2023 (SI 2023/1324), which (with effect from 29 April 2024) amended FPR Part 3 and Practice Direction 3A. Any application arising out of this Agreement and brought in the Family Court — including (without limitation) a Schedule 1 Children Act 1989 application, a Family Law Act 1996 application or an Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 application — is subject to the broadened definition of "non-court dispute resolution" (NCDR): mediation, arbitration, evaluation by a neutral third party and collaborative law.

(a) Form FM5. Where Family Court proceedings are issued, both parties must (no later than 7 days before the first hearing) file and serve a Form FM5 setting out their views on using NCDR.

(b) Court power to adjourn for NCDR. The court may, of its own motion under FPR r.3.4(1A), adjourn proceedings to encourage NCDR. The parties acknowledge that adverse cost consequences may follow under FPR r.28.3 where a party fails, without good reason, to engage with NCDR (Re X (Financial Remedy: Non-Court Dispute Resolution) [2024] EWFC 114).

(c) Narrowed MIAM exemptions. The previous-MIAM-attendance and previous-NCDR-attendance exemptions in FPR PD 3A now have a 4-month time limit. The "any other circumstances" exemption has been removed.

The parties shall first attempt NCDR before issuing any Family Court application arising out of this Agreement, save where a MIAM exemption under FPR PD 3A para 19 (including domestic-abuse evidence under reg 3 of the Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2016) applies. A TOLATA s.14 application that does not fall within Family Court jurisdiction continues to be referred under the Dispute Resolution clause above.

The parties declare that, for the purposes of this Agreement, any digital asset jointly or separately held by them during the cohabitation — including (without limitation) cryptocurrency held in self-custody wallets or on exchanges, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), tokenised securities, in-game digital items, domain registrations, online-business goodwill, social-media handles, digital-art files and joint subscription accounts — forms part of the property to which this Agreement applies, as personal property in its own right.

The parties rely on the analysis of the High Court in AA v Persons Unknown [2019] EWHC 3556 (Comm) and the Court of Appeal in Tulip Trading Ltd v Bitcoin Association for BSV [2023] EWCA Civ 83, on the Law Commission's "Digital Assets" final report (Law Com No 412, June 2024), and on the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill 2024-25 currently before Parliament (which, if enacted, will codify a "third category" of personal property in addition to choses in possession and choses in action).

(a) Treatment on separation. A digital asset registered in a sole name (or accessible only via a single party's seed phrase / recovery key) shall be treated as the sole property of that party, unless the parties expressly record a contrary intention in writing. A digital asset held jointly (whether by a joint wallet, joint exchange account, or shared recovery seed) shall be split in accordance with the Property Ownership clause above, applied mutatis mutandis to the digital asset.

(b) Key custody. Each party undertakes to maintain a current schedule of any digital assets in their sole name with their solicitor, in a sealed envelope held with their will, or in a reputable digital-legacy vault, so that on death or incapacity the surviving partner is not deprived of access by reason of lost credentials.

(c) Tax. Capital gains on the disposal of cryptocurrency are within the scope of TCGA 1992 (HMRC Cryptoassets Manual CRYPTO22000 et seq.); the parties shall consult their own tax advisers in relation to any disposal occurring on separation.

Without prejudice to clauses above, the parties acknowledge the Supreme Court's decision in Hirachand v Hirachand [2024] UKSC 43 (Lord Briggs and Lord Stephens, 18 December 2024). The Supreme Court held that any success-fee uplift payable by an Inheritance Act claimant under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) is not recoverable as part of "reasonable financial provision" under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

Accordingly, where the surviving cohabitee makes an application under section 1(1A) IPFDA 1975 against the deceased partner's estate, that application shall proceed on the footing that any CFA success fee remains a private liability of the applicant and shall not form part of any award or compromise sum borne by the estate. The personal representatives of the deceased partner are expressly authorised to resist any application or settlement proposal that purports to include CFA success-fee uplifts within "reasonable financial provision".

The standard six-month time limit under section 4 IPFDA 1975 from the date of grant continues to apply. Nothing in this clause displaces the surviving cohabitee's statutory standing to apply under s.1(1A) after two (2) years of continuous cohabitation immediately preceding death.

Both parties confirm that they have received independent legal advice on the nature, effect and consequences of this Agreement prior to execution. Partner 1 was advised by Thompson and Co Solicitors LLP, Brighton. Partner 2 was advised by Harrington Family Law, Hove. Each party has had full opportunity to consider the terms and enters into this Agreement freely and without duress or undue influence. The parties acknowledge that separate ILA materially strengthens the weight a court would give to this Agreement in the event of any future dispute.

This Agreement is executed as a deed in accordance with section 1 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989. Each party shall sign in the presence of an attesting witness aged 18 or over who is not a party to this Agreement and who is not the spouse or civil partner of a party. Execution as a deed extends the limitation period for enforcement to twelve (12) years under section 8 of the Limitation Act 1980, twice the standard 6-year simple-contract limitation period under section 5.

This Agreement and any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with it shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales. Jurisdiction for disputes is dealt with in the Dispute Resolution clause above.

Entire Agreement: This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties in respect of their cohabitation arrangements and supersedes any prior discussions, agreements or understandings.

Variation: No variation of this Agreement shall be effective unless made in writing and executed as a deed in accordance with section 1 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989.

Severability: If any provision is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

Third-Party Rights: Save as expressly provided, a person who is not a party to this Agreement has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of this Agreement.

Review: The parties agree to review this Agreement on the occurrence of any material change in circumstances (including the birth of a child, a change in property ownership, marriage, or a significant change in income).

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the date indicated.