Cohabitation Agreements Between Unmarried Couples.
What do I need to consider if my partner and I want to move in together?
If you and your significant other want to reside together and are not married, you should consider entering into a Cohabitation Agreement. Cohabitation Agreements are particularly important if you or your partner intend to purchase a home, vehicle or similar assets. If there is a written agreement on how to divide assets and liabilities upon the termination of the relationship, it will help avoid court involvement if the relationship ends. A Cohabitation Agreement should govern the division of assets and liabilities if your relationship terminates. A Cohabitation Agreement can avoid unnecessary litigation and additional stress should your relationship end.
Can the court divide my and my partner’s assets and liabilities if our relationship terminates?
If unmarried couples choose to live together, the court may become involved if the relationship ends and make decisions about how your assets and liabilities should be divided. In Beal and Beal, 282 Or. 115, 577 (1978), the Oregon Supreme Court stated that “courts, when dealing with the property disputes of a man and a woman who have been living together in a nonmarital domestic relationship, should distribute the property based upon the express or implied intent of those parties.” In Beal, the court stated that, if there is sufficient evidence of an implied (or oral) agreement in the absence of a written agreement, the court shall distribute property by implementing the established intent of the parties. Id. at 122 (emphasis added).
A written agreement is the best way to avoid court involvement if the relationship ends. Cohabitation Agreements can enable you and your partner to establish a written agreement demonstrating your intent regarding both your jointly and individually held assets and liabilities. The Cohabitation Agreement should also address those assets and liabilities that may accumulate during the cohabitation relationship. The Agreement should address your and your partner’s intent about how those assets and liabilities should be divided.
What if the property was purchased during our relationship but my name is not on the property?
The court may divide assets and liabilities regardless of whether title to the property is held in one party’s sole name or title is jointly held.
What steps do I take if my relationship ends and I need the court to divide our assets and liabilities?
The first step should be to find out if you and your former partner can mediate an equitable agreement without court involvement. If mediation is unsuccessful, you can file a petition requesting the court to divide your and your partner’s assets and liabilities. The court will give the other party the opportunity to file a Response to the Petition. The court will then schedule a date for trial. If there is no implied or oral agreement regarding the division of the property, the focus of the trial will be proving the parties’ intent with regard to each asset and liability. As the Oregon Supreme Court stated in Beal, if there is no written, oral or implied agreement, the court must look at the intent of the parties to determine how property should be divided. This often requires an extensive hearing during which evidence is presented to assist the court in determining the parties’ intent with regard to each asset. A court’s involvement to divide assets and liabilities after the conclusion of a relationship is a stressful, time-consuming and costly endeavor. A Cohabitation Agreement can help avoid unnecessary and costly litigation.
Before you decide whether to cohabit with your significant other, please contact one of our attorneys to help determine whether Cohabitation Agreements are right for your situation. If you already cohabited with your significant other and that relationship may end, please contact our office to consult with one of our attorneys to learn your rights with regard to the division of assets and liabilities resulting from the breakdown of the relationship.
By Annalise M. Lang
I am looking for a lawyer to assist me with I’m having a bassettes we do have a rental agreement and a written agreement regarding half of the house it is in his name but I paid down payments on it and been paying the mortgage the last year he moved out and now he’s trying to evict me he had me served with an eviction I have July 6th as a court hearing to go over that and I have three children one of which has Down syndrome and was born after our separation his father is not in the picture but I believe that’s his main reason why he’s evicting me is because he’s getting revenge he’s already taken all the dirt bikes anything worth money he cleared out everything of the house and didn’t have anything with me we both bought everything when we were together we were together for 13 years we’ve lived in this house for 10 years he moved in with me before we bought this house and both houses were in my name they were rentals I made a lot more money than he did and I want to go over this with somebody to see if somebody can help me with this there is a custody order also he filed custody behind my back and I was blindsided and he still lives here when that happened and I my paperwork came up missing so I didn’t know that I needed to reply back in 30 days so I never got to read any of it he told me it was being served so that he could sign papers for my oldest son which is 14 he was one when we got together sign papers for him for medical and stuff like that and I agree I said oh yeah you can sign papers for me step dad basically his daddy calls him dad but that was far from the truth Heath was filing custody of my biological son before him and my son that I had with him during the relationship we were supposed to get married but we never did because of medical insurance I wouldn’t have been able to qualify if I got married so we held off on getting married he did propose to me I have the pictures we didn’t get addressed we did get a wedding ring we were setting it all up but we never did actually get married legally so we can consider each other husband and wife we’ve called each other husband and wife our friends considered us has been a wife but now he’s after the breakup I started seeing someone else and now he’s he’s not a part of my life but my ex-husband I call my ex-husband Tyler he’s wanting to use everything against me for revenge so he’s taking everything and now he wants to the house he wants me out on the street so there’s got to be a way to fight this eviction because he can’t just evict me we have a rental agreement and we have a he didn’t give me no notice or anything
Hi Crystal,
We’re very sorry to hear about this very awful situation that you are facing. We would be happy to discuss it with you in greater detail. To comply with the local ethical rules, we need to set up a consultation with you. Please contact us at 503-466-9626 so that we can get that process started.