Cohabitation agreements: what they cover and why unmarried couples use them
Living together does not create a common law marriage. What a cohabitation agreement covers, when it holds, and why you still need wills.
Is there such a thing as common law marriage?
No. In England and Wales living together gives a couple no general legal status, however long the relationship lasts and whether or not you have children, and the House of Commons Library's briefing on "common law marriage" and cohabitation (November 2022) says that describing cohabitants as common law spouses is incorrect in law. The belief is persistent all the same, because a British Social Attitudes survey question commissioned by the University of Exeter, with results published in January 2019, found that 46% of people in England and Wales thought cohabiting couples form a common law marriage, barely changed from 47% in 2005.
The gap shows up on separation and on death. Citizens Advice explains that neither partner has a legal duty to provide for the other financially after a split, that property generally stays with whoever owns it, and that a surviving partner does not automatically inherit if the other dies without a will, nor do they get the inheritance tax exemption that spouses and civil partners have. The Ministry of Justice consulted from 5 June to 14 August 2026 on new rights for cohabitants on separation and on intestacy in A fairer end to relationships, but the government has not yet published its response, so the law has not changed.
What is a cohabitation agreement?
A cohabitation agreement, sometimes called a living together agreement, is a written contract in which an unmarried couple record how they own and share property and money, and what each of you will do if the relationship ends. Because the law gives cohabitants so little by default, the agreement does for you some of what the rules on divorce would do for a married couple.
It can be made before or after you move in, and the point of making it early is that you agree the terms whilst you are getting on well. Without one, Citizens Advice notes that things bought from a joint account are probably jointly owned, whilst things bought with savings from housekeeping money probably belong to the partner who provided the money, and that word "probably" is the kind of uncertainty that leads to disputes.
What does a cohabitation agreement usually cover?
It usually starts with the home and then deals with the money and belongings around it. The Law Society's guidance for solicitors on cohabitation agreements and Advicenow's guide for couples between them list the subjects most agreements deal with:
How the rent or mortgage and household bills are paid, and in what shares.
Joint and separate bank accounts, savings, debts and pensions.
Property and belongings each of you owned before moving in, and what you buy together afterwards.
What happens to the home and its contents if the relationship ends.
Arrangements for children, such as how their day-to-day costs are shared.
Who keeps any pets.
Children are different, because an agreement between the two of you sits alongside the law on children rather than above it. GOV.UK's child maintenance guidance says both parents are responsible for the costs of raising their children, and Citizens Advice notes that a court can still make orders about a child's care after unmarried parents separate, so the agreement is best read as a record of how you intend to share costs rather than a way of fixing them for good.
Is a cohabitation agreement legally binding?
It can be, but only if it is made properly, and how it is drawn up matters as much as what it says. Advicenow, a charity that publishes legal guides for the public, says in its guide to making a living together agreement (last updated December 2024) that an agreement is not binding unless it is written as a formal deed. It adds that courts usually follow an agreement where the terms are fair and both of you were honest about your finances, and that a court is more likely to uphold it if each of you had separate, independent legal advice.
The Law Society's guidance sets out the same conditions from the solicitor's side, which are that you both enter it freely, that it is made as a deed signed by each of you, and that each of you takes independent advice and lists your debts, assets and income with documents such as statements, payslips and title deeds. The House of Commons Library's briefing cites the same Advicenow guidance, and adds that couples are encouraged to take legal advice on what an agreement says and what it is meant to achieve.
The reasoning is practical, because if one partner later says they did not understand the agreement or was never told about the other's savings or debts, the case for holding them to it is weaker, which is why separate advice and full disclosure carry so much weight even when you trust each other completely.
How does a cohabitation agreement fit with a declaration of trust?
If you own or buy a home together, your shares in it can be recorded in a separate document called a declaration of trust, and the two documents work together rather than one replacing the other. Citizens Advice suggests making a declaration of trust alongside a living together agreement to govern how property is shared, because the agreement deals with the wider arrangements whilst the declaration fixes what proportion of the home each of you owns.
This matters most where you contribute unequally, for example where one of you paid more towards the deposit, or where one of you already owns the home and the other is moving in. Advicenow notes that where one partner owns the home and the other is to have a share, you need individual legal advice rather than a template. Our guide to joint tenants and tenants in common explains the two ways of owning a home together and how a declaration of trust records unequal shares.
Does a cohabitation agreement cover what happens if one of you dies?
Not on its own, because a cohabitation agreement is mainly about separation and it does not take the place of a will, which is the document that decides who inherits. Citizens Advice says unmarried couples need to make wills if they want each other to inherit, and the Law Society makes the same point to solicitors drawing up agreements, noting that it matters even more where one partner is still legally married to someone else.
Without a will, the intestacy rules in England and Wales give an unmarried partner nothing from your estate, however long you have been together, although a home you own as joint tenants passes to the survivor automatically. A partner who lived with you in the same household as if you were married or civil partners for the whole of the two years before your death can apply to court under section 1 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, but any award is limited to what is reasonable for their maintenance and it means bringing a court claim. Our guide to dying without a will sets out who the rules leave out, and our guide to mirror wills explains how matching wills for couples work.
When should you review a cohabitation agreement?
An agreement reflects your circumstances on the day you sign it, so it needs another look whenever those circumstances change in a way it did not anticipate. The Law Society's guidance names having children and changes to your property as the obvious triggers, and Advicenow adds moving home, a change in pay, unemployment and serious illness or disability, suggesting a formal check at intervals such as every three years even if nothing major has happened.
Marriage or a civil partnership is a different kind of change, because it brings you under the law for married couples and civil partners, so an agreement written for cohabitants may no longer do what you meant. It affects your wills too, because in England and Wales marriage or a civil partnership revokes an existing will under sections 18 and 18B of the Wills Act 1837 unless the will was made in expectation of it, which makes that a natural point to take advice on both.
What affects the cost of a cohabitation agreement?
The cost depends mainly on how much there is to sort out, so a couple renting together with modest savings will usually need far less work than one where one partner owns the home or a business is involved. The other driver is advice, because an agreement is more likely to be upheld if each of you has taken separate legal advice, which usually means two sets of fees rather than one.
Some couples start from a template, such as the one Advicenow publishes, and have it checked, whilst others ask a family solicitor regulated by the SRA, who may be a member of Resolution, to draft it from the start. If you are making wills at the same time, our guide to how much a will costs sets out what that adds.
What is different in Scotland and Northern Ireland?
Scotland gives cohabitants some limited statutory rights under the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006, which is the main difference from England and Wales. Under section 26, household goods bought during the relationship are presumed to belong to you both equally unless the contrary is shown, and under section 28 a cohabitant can ask the court for a capital sum when the relationship ends, based on economic advantage and disadvantage, but only within one year of the day you stopped living together.
If you live with a partner in Scotland and one of you dies without a will, the survivor can apply to the court for provision from the estate under section 29 of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006, but at present the application must be made within six months of the death. Section 78 of the Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 extends that period to 12 months from 14 December 2026, although neither the Act nor the commencement regulations say how the change applies to a death before that date. The claim only applies where the person who died was domiciled in Scotland and died intestate, and the court cannot award more than a spouse or civil partner would have received.
Cohabitation agreements are used in Scotland too, and an article published by the Law Society of Scotland in October 2025 describes them as formal contracts drawn up by a specialist family lawyer, ideally before you move in together. Our guide to making a will in Scotland explains why a cohabitant also has no legal rights in a Scottish estate.
Northern Ireland has no common law marriage either, as nidirect's guidance for couples who live together makes clear, and it suggests that both partners make a will. The Law Society of Northern Ireland points out that you are not legally related to a partner you live with, so without a will your estate may go to relatives instead, and it says an agreement on what happens if you separate will be legally binding if it is made under the right conditions.
What to do next if you are thinking about a cohabitation agreement
Talk through what each of you owns and owes now, and what you expect to share, before anyone drafts anything.
If you own or are buying a home, check how it is held and whether a declaration of trust records your shares.
Take separate advice from a family solicitor each, and exchange full details of your finances with supporting documents.
Sign the agreement as a deed, keep a signed copy each and note when you plan to review it.
Make wills at the same time, because the agreement does not decide who inherits.
If either of you lives in Scotland or Northern Ireland, use a solicitor who practises there, since the rules differ.
When someone dies, whoever deals with their affairs has to find and tell every bank, utility, insurer and subscription they held, which is far simpler for a surviving partner if you have both kept a clear note of which accounts are in whose name. If that work does fall to your family, Legacy Trail's free notification service can contact the private-sector companies for them.
Frequently asked questions
It can be, provided it is made properly. Advicenow's guidance for England and Wales is that it needs to be made as a deed to be binding, and that a court will usually follow it where the terms are fair and both partners were honest about their finances, and is more likely still to uphold it where each had independent legal advice, because it is hard to hold someone to terms they did not understand.
Yes, and some couples start from a template published for that purpose. The risk is that a home-made agreement may not be made as a deed or may skip separate advice, which weakens it, so some couples have a solicitor check a draft or draw it up from the start, particularly where one partner owns the home.
Not automatically. If the home is in one partner's sole name, Citizens Advice explains that the other may need to prove a beneficial interest to claim long-term rights to it, which is why a declaration of trust recording any share is useful, and if you own it together the type of joint ownership decides what happens when one of you dies.
Yes, if you want each other to inherit. A cohabitation agreement deals mainly with what happens if you separate, whereas a will decides who receives your estate, and without one the intestacy rules leave an unmarried partner out entirely in England and Wales.
Marriage or a civil partnership brings you under the law for married couples, so an agreement written for cohabitants may no longer reflect your position. It is sensible to take advice on whether a different kind of agreement is needed, and in England and Wales to make new wills, since marriage revokes an existing will unless it was made in expectation of it.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Individual circumstances vary. If you are dealing with an estate, consider taking advice from a solicitor who specialises in probate. For other guidance specific to your circumstances, speak to a funeral director, Citizens Advice, or a regulated financial adviser.