Cohabitation agreements

Under French law, cohabitation is a de facto union lacking the protective status afforded by marriage or a civil partnership (PACS). In the face of this legal shortfall, general contract law offers cohabiting partners the opportunity to organise for themselves, through a legal agreement drawn up by solicitors, the terms of their life together and the consequences of a possible separation. Our firm assists cohabiting couples in drafting bespoke agreements designed to safeguard their financial situation and prevent disputes arising from the absence of a protective legal framework.

Questions asked by clients
Does cohabitation offer me protection comparable to that of marriage or a PACS? Am I obliged to contribute to the costs of living together? What happens if my cohabiting partner gives me an item of value whilst we are living together? Can I make provision for compensation in the event of a break-up? What happens to jointly owned property in the event of a separation?

What this area covers
The main purpose of a cohabitation agreement is to set out the arrangements for living together and, above all, to anticipate the consequences of a possible separation. In particular, it allows the parties to:

draw up a precise inventory of the assets owned by each party;
resolve the issue of assets or items transferred during the period of cohabitation;
to organise, where applicable, an agreed contribution towards the costs of living together, including the repayment of a loan;
to establish rules governing the management of another person’s affairs (Articles 1301 et seq. of the Civil Code) where one partner acts on behalf of the other;
to provide a framework for the end of the relationship, in particular through a severance payment, subject to compliance with the prohibition on perpetual commitments;
to formalise and structure joint ownership between the cohabiting partners (Articles 1873-1 et seq. of the Civil Code);
to organise, following separation, the liquidation and division of assets not subject to land registration.

We start from a simple observation: as cohabitation lacks a protective legal status, it exposes each partner to financial and evidential risks in the event of separation or death. Our approach involves transforming this lack of a legal framework into a bespoke contractual arrangement, tailored to the couple’s financial and asset situation — rather than relying, after the event, on the difficult task of reconstructing evidence or on a claim for unjust enrichment. When drafting each agreement, we ensure a balance between the interests of both partners, so that neither is disadvantaged by the absence of specific protective legislative provisions in this area.