NSW Cohabitation Agreement - Suggestions to Make it Cheaper?

[Sweebs]

Hi

I was wondering if anyone can help me. I am trying to arrange a cohabitation agreement with my girlfriend. Every solicitor wants to charge me a fortune to look at the agreement and sign off on it.

I have already given the solicitors a lot of money through my divorce and would like to minimise this in the future.

Does anyone have a suggestion?

Thanks

 

[Hayder Shkara]

Hi I was wondering if anyone can help me. I am trying to arrange a cohabitation agreement with my girlfriend. Every solicitor wants to charge me a fortune to look at the agreement and sign off on it. I have already given the solicitors a lot of money through my divorce and would like to minimise this in the future. Does anyone have a suggestion. Thanks

Define 'A fortune"? These documents can potentially save you 'a fortune' in the future because assets will already be pre-determined on the basis of the contract. You should know this more than anyone having gone through your previous divorce.

There's a reason why solicitor's are charging so much, it's because the area of law is quite insipid and such agreements are not as strong as people think they are. Solicitor's are worried about getting sued for providing advice that is relied on, then the agreement is set aside by the courts and the client sues the solicitor.

Read this article: You Don't Need to be Rich or Famous to Get a Prenup. If you're in a relationship, you should read this.

If you need help with an agreement I can help you out or even happy to just point you in the right direction (02) 8089 3148

 

[sammy01]

I agree - but I do have another solution... Don't bother.

Why? Well the law is pretty sensible... So what if you guys live happily ever after - great - no problem. What if it lasts 2-3 years? Well the law would consider it a short relationship and each party takes out what they put in... So no need for an agreement - Great.

What if it lasts longer and you don't have an agreement - say 10-15 years? Well then you're likely to see half your stuff go to the other person and vice versa... Bugger.

What if it lasts longer and you have an agreement but a substantial event has happened in that 15 years - you guys have a kid, or you buy property together or just staying together for that length of time could give grounds for a court to dismiss the agreement, especially if there is any reason for a magistrate to consider it to be unfair?

All of these things would see the validity of the agreement as questionable.

And...

What if it lasts 15-20 years and you have a legally binding agreement? Well if she wants to challenge it, she can. She might win, she might not, but you're still gonna be throwing money at a solicitor.

Now like Hayder said, solicitors are worried about getting sued in the event a court decides to set aside the pre-nup... That kind of hints to me that solicitor's / the legal system don't see these things as water tight. So why bother?

Now as far as making it cheaper. Well for the thing to be close to water tight - both parties must get independent legal advice (can anyone confirm this for me?) So nope - you're gonna have to pay solicitors / barristers and anything you write up on a piece of paper and sign is toilet paper, so the only way to get something close to watertight is to get solicitors involved, so I don't see a cheaper alternative.

 

[Hayder Shkara]

both parties MUST get independent legal advice

This is true.

Yes they are worried because it's not water tight. The way I see it is - if you have the agreement beforehand and the relationship breaks down and its amicable, both parties may just stick to the agreement and separate.

If one party wants to fight the agreement and have it set aside, they have to go through the court first and explain to the court why it should be pushed aside. This means time + money which for a lot of people and a lot of relationships - isn't worth it. Then after its pushed aside, more legal fees to fight for what each party should get.

Other than that - Agree with everything Sammy has said - if you want a cheap solution - don't even bother.

 

[sammy01]

On that note - what say you do split up in say 15 years. And go through the whole financial separation process - most of the time folks sort it between themselves. Sometimes (rarely) courts are involved. In my experience both parties walk away disgruntled and feel hard done by.... GOOD . It means the system is working, both parties should feel roughly equally screwed over - AND any 'binding' agreement that isn't FAIR will easily get chucked outa court... So again why bother. Spend 2% of the money that a binding agreement would cost on making her feel special per year and you won't have to worry...

OR if you're that worried, then she ain't the one and don't live together... Easiest way to keep your assets safe.