Avoid financial surprises when living together unmarried

Why are agreements essential for unmarried cohabitants?

The law doesn't regulate unmarried cohabitants. It also doesn't regulate compensation rights. A compensation right is the right a partner may have to receive compensation for certain investments they've made in the other partner's assets. For example, if one partner pays more than the other when purchasing or renovating a joint home, there are no regulations for this. This means that those who invest more are not automatically entitled to compensation if the relationship ends. Currently, in the absence of proper agreements, there's a good chance a judge will rule that each partner is entitled to half, regardless of whether one partner paid more than the other. Below is an example to illustrate this issue:

Example

Partners A and B purchase a home together (each owning 50%). They have made no other arrangements. A contributes €80,000 to the purchase price. B contributes no equity. The remaining purchase price is financed by a mortgage that A and B take out together. After ten years, A and B separate. The home is sold for €500,000. Based on their ownership ratio, each is entitled to half (€250,000). A therefore loses half of his contribution (€40,000).

We can prevent this

We can help you prevent this. A cohabitation agreement we draft can, for example, outline agreements on how to handle unequal investments. This will prevent unpleasant discussions or legal proceedings in the event of a relationship breakdown.

Record your agreements in a notarial cohabitation agreement

Prevention is better than cure. Do you want to move forward together, but with clear agreements? Then have us draw up a cohabitation agreement. This way, you'll clearly document everyone's financial contributions and prevent future uncertainties and conflicts.

Reach out

Would you like more advice on this topic? Please contact us. Call us at +31 (0)10 44 53 777 or, even better, email us at service@maesnotarissen.nl. We're here to help.

This article is taken from 'Notariskrant', a product of FBN Juristen. This article should not be considered legal advice. FBN Juristen and MAES notarissen take the utmost care with the content of these articles but accept no liability for any incompleteness or inaccuracy of an article, nor for any consequences thereof.