We draft cohabitation agreements which give structure and certainty to the legal relationship between unmarried couples which are living together.
If you require a notarised cohabitation agreement contact us at notary cape town a division of Le Roux Attorneys.
A cohabitation agreement, also referred to as life partnership agreement, provides certainty and structure to the legal relationship between unmarried couples who are living together.
Both parties to a cohabitation must sign the agreement in front of an admitted and practising Notary Public, in the presence of two competent witnesses. The Notary Public will attest to the identity and signature of the parties.
The Notary Public’s stamp or seal is usually affixed on the last page of the agreement. It is general practice to refer to the Notary Public’s protocol number in the cohabitation agreement.
There are several reasons why parties who are cohabitating should consider entering into a cohabitation agreement which regulates their proprietary affairs.
The main reason relates to a partner’s right to maintenance or support. The current position with regards to the right to maintenance or support from the estate of a deceased domestic partner, is that no such right automatically exists.
A surviving partner will find it very difficult to convince the courts of his/her right to claim maintenance or support from a deceased domestic partner’s estate, if the parties did not enter into a binding contract with the intention by both parties to be legally bound.
Various other issues need to be considered when parties are cohabitating, i.e. finances during the existence of the relationship, joint ownership of assets, division of estates upon termination of the relationship, investment, maintenance, death and children.
Cohabitation does not create any automatic legal rights and duties between parties. This is the case irrespective of the duration of the relationship.