Thinking of moving in together? Don’t enter a “vat en sit” arrangement without looking at your options and drawing up a legally binding contract.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
Get it in writing
Draft a written agreement that clearly sets out the rights and duties of each partner in the live-in relationship. This agreement is similar to a contract and should be drawn up by a legal expert, which will make it legally binding and enforceable by law.
Register your live-in relationship
You can register your relationship under the Civil Union Act, which will officially make it a civil union. Your rights as a partner will depend entirely on the type of civil union you’ve registered.
Get an ante-nuptial contract
You could, as in a normal marriage, sign an ante-nuptial contract to provide financial protection for both of you. You could register your relationship in community of property or out of community of property, just like a marriage.
In community of property
This means you will share all your possessions and be entitled to half of your partner’s assets, and vice versa. This also makes you legally responsible for any debt incurred by your partner and vice versa.
Out of community of property
If you choose the accrual system it means that both of you keep ownership of your pre-contract possessions. When you die or end the relationship, the difference in the growth of the collected possessions will be divided equally between the partners. You have to specify if you want the accrual system, because if you don’t specify, it will apply by default. When you specify that you don’t want the accrual system, it means that all your possessions remain your individual property – the ones you’ve brought into the relationship as well as those gained after signing the contract.
Ending the registered civil union
You have to request a court to end your union and it will be handled the same way as a divorce.
