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Legal eagle<br />
relationship, and professional advice will provide<br />
you with options and understanding.<br />
A living together agreement can record what<br />
you both intend to put in financially, how you<br />
live together, who is responsible for what and<br />
ultimately who takes out what in the event of<br />
separation.<br />
Advertorial<br />
Getting Married<br />
People continue to get married and to many it<br />
remains the ultimate promise to make. Couples<br />
are marrying later in life; in some cases more<br />
than once, and it can often mean that they bring<br />
"baggage" with them – the physical results of what<br />
can be years of hard work.<br />
Whether you are living<br />
together or married, a<br />
financial agreement is<br />
essential, says Sarah Stace<br />
It's a fact of life that most decisions have financial<br />
implications. The decision to share your life with<br />
someone, whether you marry or not, can carry<br />
some of the biggest.<br />
Living Together<br />
The popularity of couples living together without<br />
marrying continues to rise and, in a world of ever<br />
increasing living costs, has become a normal and<br />
almost necessary step. Despite this, it comes as a<br />
surprise to many that living together, regardless<br />
of how long, does not automatically give you<br />
rights over the assets of your partner. Nor will it<br />
provide you with financial protection in the event<br />
of a separation.<br />
There are, however, steps you can take to<br />
ensure that you get what you intended from the<br />
People are unsurprisingly nervous. Not just<br />
about entrusting their hearts, but also their<br />
valued possessions, with one another. Prenuptial<br />
agreements, which document how assets are<br />
to be divided in the event of separation, are<br />
becoming the tonic to premarital nerves. Once<br />
approached with caution, nuptial agreements are<br />
becoming increasingly popular. Recent case law<br />
continues to support the trend to allow people<br />
autonomy in how financial affairs are dealt with if<br />
happily ever after does not work out as intended.<br />
A prenuptial agreement can legitimately and<br />
responsibly protect a family business or property<br />
acquired prior to the marriage.<br />
It's never too late, however, and those who are<br />
already married can enter into a postnuptial<br />
agreement at any time.<br />
Far from being romance killers, financial<br />
agreements encourage couples to be frank and<br />
honest with each other from the start. They<br />
provide a building block for your lives together<br />
and result in a shared understanding of what<br />
each expects of the other.<br />
Sarah Stace is a family lawyer at TV<br />
Edwards. For further information contact<br />
her on 020 3440 8048, or at<br />
Sarah.Stace@tvedwards.com<br />
tvedwards.com, 35-37 Mile End Road<br />
London, E1 4TP<br />
36 LOVEEAST
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