The Season of Goodwill…?

It seems to be established now that Christmas starts in November: the shops are bristling with seasonal stuff, the TV advertising campaigns are in full flow.

This is meant to be a happy time for families but along with all the festive traditions it is recognised that the stresses of Christmas can act as a catalyst to relationship breakdown.

Breaking up is hard to do…. whether you are married to your partner or not.

Time and again we emphasise that common law husbands and wives are a fiction and cohabiting families do not have the legal protection a marriage can claim. Basically, the law does not acknowledge that a man and woman, or same sex couple, living together outside the state of marriage, have any legal rights one against the other.

What to do? Again, we repeat so many times, think about what could go wrong in the future – it may not be very romantic, but one in three relationships are at risk of breakdown whether you are married or not. Agree from the outset what the two of you would do if you do end up going your separate ways. How would you share the equity in your home and its contents, how would you apportion the debts?

People insure their home against loss and breakage. Why ever don’t they insure their relationship? – you know it makes sense.

Happy Christmas

Wednesday, December 9th, 2015 Marriage Breakdown