Why Is a Cohabitation Agreement Important?
When couples marry, any assets or property acquired over the course of their marriage will be defined as marital property by statute. Unmarried couples, however, are not similarly protected. As a result, if you and the person you live with jointly purchase furniture, electronics, even a car or pet, there is no legal way to determine who gets what. A cohabitation agreement allows you to arrive at a means for determining who gets what should you eventually separate and/or how debts are paid while you are together. For instance, you can specify who gets what or you can create a buy-out clause that requires one party to reimburse the other for any items he or she wants to keep.
