subject: Cohabitation: How To Protect Yourself [print this page] For some people, living together (cohabitation) is preferable to getting married or at least just as good. There are others who dont agree. Whatever the case, if two individuals have decided to live together, it is best that they take the steps needed to protect each persons interests. Though it seems that love will always last and that there will never be any problems, this is often times not the case. People break up and when they do all of those previous good feelings turn negative. This makes it difficult to calmly and fairly divvy up assets and to agree on visitation rights for the kids if there are children involved.
When two people are in love, they often fail to take the measures needed to protect themselves in the event that things dont work out. This is a huge mistake! Perhaps the best time to decide what will happen after a couple breaks up is before the fact. Sure, this seems counterintuitive, but when individuals feel great about each other, they are better able to negotiate because negative feelings havent clouded their judgment.
If you have never heard of a cohabitation agreement and are thinking about moving in with your partner, you should acquaint yourself with one. It is simply an agreement which determines what will happen in the event that you two break up. It can also stipulate how things will be run during the relationship, for instance, who pays which bills. Determining how things will be handled during the relationship can be a big help because typically there arent a lot of firm boundaries when people move in together. Instead, they opt to let things play out. Often times, they dont play out well. Once a couple has settled in together they may not feel as generous as they once did, especially concerning the bills. To prevent issues like this from taking over the relationship, figuring out ahead of time who has what responsibilities can be very helpful.
Most people dont like to discuss breaking up with their partner, especially when everything is going well. However, because a break-up is definitely a possibility determining who will get what, including the children, in case things dont work out is the responsible thing to do. When a couple is not married, but cohabitating, issues of dividing joint assets and figuring out visitation rights for the kids can be difficult. Deciding on these things ahead of time can make the split a lot easier on everyone involved.
