The cohabitation agreement is a precious and recent instrument that may achieve important results. In fact, those couples that do not want to get married while aiming to stabilise their economic relations may opt for a cohabitation agreement.
The agreement shall be in writing and it shall be a “public agreement” by the notary or a private notarised contract. In addition, such contract cannot be subjected to any terms or conditions for the whole duration of the cohabitation.
The cohabitation agreement can be concluded only by adult (18 years old in Italy) partners also including same sex couples. In addition, it is relevant that:
– Cohabitation between partners is stable and uninterrupted;
– The absence of family bond, or adoption relationship;
– Partners shall not be married or in a civil partnership.
The cohabitation agreement is relevant because partners may regulate their economic relationships. For this reason, the agreement shall include:
– A valid address to send all official communication to the couple;
– Couple’s residence;
– How partners contribute to family needs including economic and professional contribution;
– The property regime
The main advantage of signing a cohabitation agreement is to anticipate some issues involving couple’s economic relationship. On top of that, the couple has the power to decide the consequence of the hypothetical end of the relationship.