What a cohabitation agreement can do for you: 
What You Need to Know Before BC Law Decides for You

A cohabitation agreement lets you and your partner define your own rules. Without one, British Columbia's Family Law Act steps in and does it for you.

What is a cohabitation agreement?

A cohabitation agreement, also called a common-law agreement, is a written legal contract between two people who live together, or plan to, in a marriage-like relationship. It sets out how property, finances, and responsibilities are handled during the relationship, and what happens if the relationship ends.

Think of it as the owner's manual for your shared life. You and your partner write it together, before the rules get written for you.

Why does it matter in BC?

Here is the part that surprises most people. Under the BC Family Law Act, you do not need to be married for the law to treat you like you are.

After two years of living together, you are legally classified as common-law spouses. At that point, the same property division, asset-sharing, and spousal support rules that apply to married couples apply to you, whether you planned for it or not.

There is one important exception when it comes to support. If you and your partner have a child together, spousal and child support obligations can apply after just one year of living together, even if the two-year property threshold has not been reached.

A cohabitation agreement changes that. It lets the two of you decide what is shared, what is not, and how things will be handled, rather than leaving those decisions to a judge.

What can a cohabitation agreement cover?

• Division of real estate, savings, and personal property
• Debts incurred before or during the relationship
• Ownership of gifts, inheritances, and family heirlooms
• Responsibility for major purchases and shared expenses
• What happens to pets
• Spousal support, if applicable
• The legal process to follow if you separate

You and your partner choose the terms. That flexibility is the point.

Who benefits most from having one?

A cohabitation agreement is valuable for almost any couple moving in together. It is especially important when one or both partners bring real estate, a business, investments, significant savings, or children from a previous relationship into the picture. The more you each have to protect, the more important it is to put the terms in writing before the law creates its own version of your agreement by default.

The real cost of skipping it: Cameron and Lisa's Client Story

Cameron and Lisa each owned successful businesses. Cameron also owned real estate worth considerably more than Lisa's assets. Knowing the relationship was rocky, Cameron wanted a cohabitation agreement in place.

Instead of working with a cohabitation agreement lawyer, Cameron downloaded a template online. When he presented it to Lisa, he told her to sign it or leave. Lisa signed without getting independent legal advice. Cameron believed he had saved himself some money.

Years later, they had two children and eventually separated. The value of Cameron's real estate had increased dramatically. Lisa challenged the agreement in court, arguing she had been pressured into signing, that she did not understand it, and that having children together had fundamentally changed their financial situation.

After a lengthy and expensive trial, the judge upheld the agreement. Text and email evidence showed that Lisa had negotiated the terms, and prior sworn statements confirmed she had understood it. Cameron won, but the legal fight cost him far more than a properly drafted agreement would have.

The lesson is simple. If you are going to have a cohabitation agreement, do it properly. The cost of getting it right is a fraction of the cost of defending it in court.

What makes a cohabitation agreement legally enforceable in BC?

BC family law sets out clear conditions. If any of them are missing, a court may set the agreement aside.

Independent legal advice protects both of you. It makes the agreement far harder to challenge later, and it ensures you each know exactly what you are agreeing to.

The role of a cohabitation agreement lawyer

Online templates look convenient. In practice, they often miss the specific legal requirements that make an agreement enforceable under BC's Family Law Act, and those gaps can cost you everything a template was supposed to protect.

A cohabitation agreement lawyer drafts the agreement around your actual circumstances, ensures full financial disclosure is properly documented, confirms each party has genuinely consented, and makes sure the document meets all formal execution requirements.

The goal is an agreement that holds up, not just one that exists.

One more thing: review it when life changes

A cohabitation agreement reflects your circumstances at the time it is signed. If those circumstances change significantly, such as having children together, acquiring major new assets, or starting a business, it is worth revisiting the agreement to make sure it still reflects what is fair and what you intended.

What if your partner pushes back?

It is worth paying attention to that reaction. A cohabitation agreement is not a sign of distrust. It is a sign of maturity. It means you value the relationship enough to protect both people in it.

A partner who refuses to acknowledge each other's financial reality, despite being financially independent, is signaling something important. Verbal assurances like "I would never go after your assets" are genuine in the moment. They are not legally binding.

Clarity now prevents conflict later. That is true whether your relationship lasts a lifetime or comes to an unexpected end.

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