Unmarried Couples: The Importance Of A Deed Of Trust When Buying A Property

These days many couples choose to live together without seeing the need to enter into marriage. Buying a property together is a huge step, both financially and emotionally, and it is certainly not likely to be a time when you want to consider what would happen in the event that you separated from your partner in the future. However, with the number of relationships that breakdown being so high it is, unfortunately, a very real ‘risk’ that you need consider when making such a large financial purchase, or are borrowing such a large amount of money, with someone to whom you are not married.

Contrary to popular opinion, unmarried couples do not have the same rights as married couples when it comes to owning a property, regardless of whether or not they have children. The absence of any formal legal arrangement can often lead to disputes and turn potentially amicable break-ups into controversial splits.

A Deed of Trust can help prevent these disputes from arising. The deed can be drawn up by your solicitor at the same time as the other documents, such as the Title Deeds, are drafted. The Deed of Trust is a legally binding document which sets out clearly what should happen to the property, or to the funds from the sale of the property, in the event that you and your partner were to separate or if one of you were to die.

It is very easy – and understandable – not to want to contemplate the breakdown of a relationship, even more so the death of one of the parties, especially when you are taking the huge step of buying a house and moving in together, perhaps for the very first time. Despite this it is vitally important for both parties in the relationship to protect your interests in the event of separation or death and be realistic about what could happen in the future. So many couples who would otherwise have been able to maintain a courteous relationship after their split fail to be able to do so purely because of the lack of legal arrangements which then leads to acrimony and dispute. Not only this, but if you disagree about what should happen to the property, or to the funds from the property, and there is no legal arrangement in place to protect you, you are both likely to incur substantial legal fees in instructing lawyers to iron out any disputes.

A Deed of Trust, whilst not the most romantic of notions when taking this important step together, can be vital in ensuring that there are no lengthy and costly disputes surrounding your property following the breakdown of your relationship with your partner.

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