Cohabitation agreement in Scotland

[Eiremogra]

Hi all,hoping you could give me some advice on what to include/consider when writing a cohabitation agreement.

My partner and I have just had our offer in a house accepted. He is putting in the full deposit amount and we agree that this should be ‘ring fenced’. My question is about what stipulations should be included alongside this?
Should we have children which would impact my income( maternity pay,reduced working hours) or should I have an injury which would affect my ability to work and therefore affect my pay…or is there often an set period of time that the agreements made would be reviewed due to changes in circumstances etc? I really want to be assured that I’m looking after my interests here - I’ve been burnt by the ex from hell in the past and want to protect myself financially. Thanks all xx

You can get insurance that would cover you if you were unable to work due to injury (it was called Key man insurance when I was looking a few years ago but that’s probably an outdated term - key person?!)

As for having kids, if you’re likely to lose out career wise then the best advice is always to get married first, and continue to pay into a pension throughout the child rearing years. Sadly advice I didn’t take and I’m now paging the price, but at least having been married I was entitled to a balanced share of assets.

I don't think you need a co-habitation agreement. It's more widely used when one party is moving into a property already owned by the other. Just make sure the percentage share of the property is reflected in your title deeds.

You should obviously be having a conversation about how you split your joint finances.

As PP, you both take out life, critical illness or loss of earnings insurance.

If/when you go on maternity, make sure your OH pays your pension contributions for this period.

If you do want an agreement, you'll both need to take independent legal advice.

I would definitely get a cohabitation agreement, having separated without one (not married, in Scotland) & spending 8K on legal fees!

Whilst it's fair that his deposit is ring-fenced & the remaining equity divided equally, I wish I'd had a clause stipulating that he could only buy me out at market value (rather than home report value) if we separated in the future.

You could be left in the position (like me) of having to leave the house with children & trying to buy /rent somewhere on your own. Not easy if you live somewhere expensive.

I think the big factor is what happens if you have children? I'd personally continue to work full time & not give him the benefits of marriage without the risks. Unless there is a clause that equity is split more evenly if you separate after children.

Section 28 (cohabitation claims) are rare, expensive & do not give you as much legal protection as marriage.