A clear plan for the life you're building together

Amira and Josh, First home together | Renting

Liam (35), an IT consultant and Sofia (32), a physiotherapist, were buying their first home together for £420,000. Sofia was contributing a much larger deposit thanks to family help, while Liam was contributing from his own savings. They'd both been thinking about how to set things up so it felt fair to both of them, now and in the future, especially if their incomes changed.

Because they were already aligned on the big calls, they went straight to the Cohabitation Agreement Service. Their Specialist drafted an agreement that recognised the different sizes of their deposits in their property shares, and set out how they'd split the £1,650 monthly mortgage and household costs. Sofia's separate savings and Liam's existing ISA were also recorded as their own.

They moved in feeling clear about how their bigger purchase would be handled, and confident that   both contributions were properly recognised.  

Rachel and Tom, Blending households | Both divorced | Different social and living expectations

Rachel (43), a freelance graphic designer, owned her home with around £180,000 in equity. Tom (47), an operations manager, was moving in with her after his own divorce. Both had been through long marriages and wanted to be more intentional this time, avoiding the patterns that had caused issues before.

They added a Living Together Planning Session at checkout to talk things through with a Specialist   first. Once they were clear, the Specialist drafted their cohabitation agreement. It set out how Tom would contribute to the bills and mortgage through a shared account, kept their personal accounts and savings separate, recorded the equity Rachel was bringing as her own and listed the furniture and personal items each of them was bringing into the home. They also agreed how to look after Rachel's dog Maisie, who was already part of the household.

They moved in feeling that this time, they'd built solid foundations together.

Mia and Hannah – moving in together, renting their first place

Mia (29), a primary school teacher and Hannah (31), a graphic designer, were moving into a rented one-bed flat together for the first time. They'd been together for two years and felt ready to take the next step. They wanted to start things well, especially as Hannah earned a bit more.

They booked a Living Together Planning Session first to talk things through with a Specialist. Once   they had a clear plan, they went on to the Cohabitation Agreement Service to have it drafted. The   agreement set out how they'd split the £1,500 monthly rent and bills proportionally to their incomes, kept their personal savings clearly separate and recorded what would happen with their shared household items if either of them wanted to move out.

They moved in feeling clear about how things would work and confident they'd both be looked after.  

Caroline and David – new relationship, both own property

Caroline (46), a senior HR manager, had owned her home for over a decade and had around £260,000 in equity. She was midway through a large renovation project. David (48), a self-employed landscape designer, had recently bought his own flat after his divorce with around £50,000 in equity. They wanted to combine their lives without losing what they'd each built independently.  

Their Living Together Planning Session gave them space to map things out, and their Specialist then   drafted their cohabitation agreement to capture it all. It recorded that Caroline's home and David's   flat would each stay theirs, set out how David would contribute to Caroline's £1,100 monthly mortgage and household bills and agreed how the rental income from David's flat would be handled.   The contribution David was making to the renovation was recognised in the agreement, and any future inheritance for either of them was kept clearly separate.

They moved in feeling secure, with both of their financial positions properly recognised.