With ongoing changes in social norms, it is more common for many couples to live together before getting married. The period of living together immediately pre-dating a couple’s marriage is often referred to as “pre-marital cohabitation”, and will usually be considered as part of divorce proceedings in the event of a breakdown of the relationship.
This period of cohabitation could have an impact on financial settlements on the division of the assets, as it may be treated as extending the length of the marriage even if you were only legally married for a short amount of time.
What if we only lived together occasionally, or in someone else’s property?
The court will generally consider pre-marital cohabitation as commencing when the parties start living together. In many cases it is clear when cohabitation started, such as buying a house together or signing a joint tenancy agreement for rented accommodation.
Some couples may instead live together with friends, housemates, or parents, or perhaps only spend some nights per week together at each other’s homes. This could make it more difficult to determine when exactly the period of pre-marital cohabitation starts, particularly if this is disputed by your spouse. In these circumstances, the court may consider pre-marital cohabitation as starting at the point when the parties became truly committed to one another.
As marriages and relationship dynamics vary from couple to couple, there is no “one-size fits all” approach, and so the court may take into account any signs which suggest a commitment to one another. This is a non-exhaustive list but could include, for example, the date the parties became engaged to be married, or the time they planned to start a family. On this basis, if you are spending time at each other’s homes from time to time, this could amount to pre-marital cohabitation if the relationship is a committed one and moving towards marriage.
It may be difficult to determine a clearly defined start date of pre-marital cohabitation as this is considered on a case-by-case basis, and we will be able to advise you should you wish to commence divorce proceedings.
Will the length of our relationship affect my financial settlement?
A financial claim arising after many years of marriage could potentially be greater than one arising after only a few years. This is because the longer the period of time from the start of the marriage to separation, the more likely the value of the assets will have increased. In addition, there is a higher possibility of any assets obtained by either party prior to the marriage becoming blended together with those acquired during the marriage which could fall to be to be divided. As pre-marital cohabitation could be treated as extending the marriage to a longer duration, this could potentially have a significant impact on any financial claims on divorce.
How can we help?
If you require any assistance in relation to a relationship breakdown and are concerned about the possible impact this may have on your financial settlement, contact us today for more information.
