Protecting your Future – How and why it is so important

There are however types of relationship agreements that are available to everyone that can help provide clarity and certainty to both parties and their families and they should be considered proactively when family circumstances change.

Moving in together into a new home or moving into a property already owned by one party, parents wishing to invest in a property for a cohabiting child or a divorcee planning to cohabit with a new partner are all scenarios that can cause anxiety and stress to all parties involved and their families.

A living together agreement or cohabitation agreement in these situations could therefore be a very worthwhile consideration.  A living together agreement is a written agreement between parties detailing the respective wealth and assets of both parties and when signed and witnessed, provides security should a couple separate, so this type of agreement can act as a safety net for the whole family – an attractive option.

Pre-nuptial agreements are not just the preserve of the rich and famous. These can often be invaluable in circumstances where one or both of the soon to be married or those entering into a civil partnership have acquired wealth prior to the relationship or would like to protect wealth to pass on to children from a previous relationship. While it is often the couple that initiate these, a parent or close relative can be instrumental in suggesting these if there is family wealth or business assets at stake too.  Crucially in order to be legally binding, ‘pre-nups’ must be freely entered into with full and frank disclosure of wealth and property and with independent advice.

And finally – the increasingly popular post-nup agreement.  Should a marriage or partnership end through divorce or dissolution, the post-nup agreement details how a couple’s assets will be distributed.   The advantages of a post-nup are numerous: they can be drawn up at any stage in the marriage or partnership, they can provide clarity on matters not outlined at the start of the marriage or partnership or that have changed since, and they can often offer an objective solution to what could be a particularly emotional time.

Each of these types of agreements has their own value and will suit different situations and scenarios, but what is clear is, that a couple considering cohabitation, marriage or a civil partnership could do well to investigate entering into an agreement to take the anxiety and stress out of potential situations further down the line.