There is also a growing awareness of the need for a Co-Ownership Agreement in relationships.



The largest percentage of people making inquiries for a Co-Ownership Agreement are de facto couples and people living in blended family arrangements.

It's a good idea to have an agreement in place, especially where people live together as spouses and contribute to the finances of the relationship on a more or less equal basis.

"Spouse" in this case includes same sex couples and de facto partners living together on a bona fide domestic basis.

Older and wiser Rosendorff Lawyers clients who are entering into second and third relationships are more likely to rely on an agreement. Many of them have been burnt in failed relationships that have been adjudicated on by the courts.

Any party who is married, de facto or in a domestic relationship must obtain a solicitor's certificate to make sure independent advice was available when the agreement was made.

A solicitor's certificate should also include a statement that each party had independent advice about the effect of the agreement on their rights as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the agreement.

While binding, it is also subject to judicial discretion. The parties might have the best intentions in the world of abiding by the terms of the agreement when it is made, but the matrimonial courts have the power to alter the arrangements.

A Rosendorff Lawyers Co-Ownership Agreement, even if not ultimately upheld, is worth having. At the very least, it creates an argument and at the very best it is enforceable.