Cohabitation Disputes

Cohabitees do not have any legal protection similar to divorcing couples and must instead rely on the rules of property law and trust law to determine their entitlement to the assets acquired during their relationship. However, if a dispute arises upon separation then we at Carltons will assist you in trying to reach a fair settlement with your partner.

Unmarried couples have no legal rights upon separation unlike married couples and there is no legal status as a Common Law partner. Therefore, here at Carltons, we recommend that you enter in to a Cohabitation Agreement which will incorporate your wishes on how you wish to divide your assets and who should care for the children etc in the event that you were to separate.

Our Family department staff includes a member of Resolution. Members of Resolution are required to follow the Resolution code of practice which commits family lawyers to resolving disputes in a non-confrontational way. Instead family law disputes are dealt with in a constructive way preserving people’s dignity and encouraging agreements.