More American couples than ever live together without marrying, and the law mostly treats them as legal strangers: no community property, no automatic inheritance, no support rights. A cohabitation agreement fills that gap by putting who owns what, and who pays what, into an enforceable contract.
This template covers the shared home, household expenses, separate property, and jointly bought items, plus an optional support waiver. Fill it in together and download it in Word and PDF.
Why unmarried couples need a written agreement
When a marriage ends, divorce law provides a rulebook for dividing property. When unmarried partners separate, there is no rulebook: each keeps what is titled in their name, and untangling years of mingled finances turns into a dispute about receipts and memories. The partner who paid the rent while the other paid down a mortgage in their own name can walk away with nothing to show for it. A cohabitation agreement replaces that uncertainty with terms you both chose while things were good.
- The home: who holds the lease or deed, and whether the other partner's contributions build any interest in it.
- Expenses: an equal split, an income-proportional split, or your own arrangement, stated plainly.
- Belongings: what each partner brought in, and how things bought together are owned.
- Separation: notice, dividing joint property, and whether any support is owed.
Are cohabitation agreements enforceable?
Yes, in nearly every state, under ordinary contract law. Since the landmark Marvin v. Marvin decision, courts have enforced property and support agreements between unmarried partners, as long as the agreement is about finances and property rather than the relationship itself. A few states codified the rules: Minnesota, for example, requires cohabitation property agreements to be written and signed in Minn. Stat. 513.075, and refuses to hear claims without such a writing. A small number of states, including Illinois and Georgia, remain restrictive about certain claims between unmarried partners, which makes a clear written agreement more valuable there, not less. Two habits keep the contract solid everywhere: put it in writing, and keep the terms about money and property.
Fairness at signing also matters. Courts scrutinize agreements between intimate partners more closely than arm's length contracts, so disclose your finances to each other honestly, sign well before any crisis, and never pressure a partner into signing. An agreement both partners understood and genuinely accepted is the one that holds up.
This agreement is not a common law marriage
The template states explicitly that the partners do not intend to marry or to hold themselves out as married. In the few states that still recognize common law marriage, that written statement is itself useful evidence against an unintended marital claim.
Common law marriage: where it still exists
A handful of states still allow couples to become legally married without a ceremony, which can convert a breakup into a full divorce with property division and support. Texas calls it informal marriage and requires an agreement to be married, cohabitation, and holding out as married, under Family Code section 2.401. Living together for any number of years is never enough by itself, anywhere.
| Status | States |
|---|---|
| Still recognized | Colorado, District of Columbia, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas (informal marriage), Utah (by validation) |
| Recognized only if formed before a cutoff date | Alabama (2017), Georgia (1997), Idaho (1996), Ohio (1991), Pennsylvania (2005), South Carolina (2019), and others |
| Never or no longer recognized | All remaining states; they will, however, honor a common law marriage validly formed in a state that allows it |
For couples in the recognizing states, the cohabitation agreement plays defense: it documents that neither partner agreed to be married, which cuts off the most expensive surprise claim an ex-partner can raise. For everyone else, it plays offense: it creates the property rules that marriage law would otherwise have supplied.
Palimony and support between unmarried partners
Palimony is the informal name for support one unmarried partner seeks from the other after separation. It is not alimony: no statute grants it automatically, and states divide sharply. Some enforce express promises of support (California under Marvin), some require the promise to be in writing (New Jersey since 2010, Minnesota by statute), and some refuse the claim entirely. Because the law is this uneven, the support clause is the most consequential choice in this template: waive support mutually and clearly if you both want financial independence, or leave the question open if you do not.
A support waiver signed by two self-supporting adults is generally respected. Courts are more skeptical when one partner sacrificed a career, raised the couple's children, or worked in the other's business for years without pay: in those situations, get individual legal advice before waiving anything, on either side of the deal.
Bank accounts, bills, and debt: the day-to-day money clauses
Marriage law never merges an unmarried couple's finances, but banking products do. Either owner of a joint account can withdraw the entire balance at any time, legally, and the bank will not referee. The workable pattern for most couples is three accounts: each partner keeps their own, plus a joint account funded monthly for shared expenses, with the agreement stating the funding split (equal, or proportional to income) and what happens to the balance at separation. The same clause should assign the recurring bills by name: rent or mortgage, utilities, streaming, insurance, the dog's vet.
Debt deserves its own paragraph because the default rule surprises people in both directions. There is no community debt between unmarried partners: each partner's loans, credit cards, and tax bills remain their own, and a creditor cannot pursue you for a partner's debt simply because you live together. The exceptions are the ones you create: cosigning a loan, joining a credit card account, or putting both names on a lease makes each of you fully liable for the whole obligation, not half. The agreement should list every jointly held debt, say who actually pays it, and require mutual consent before either partner cosigns anything new in both names.
Finally, big-ticket personal property: cars, furniture, equipment bought together. Title controls cars, receipts control the rest, and memory controls nothing. An inventory exhibit listing each significant item, who paid, and who keeps it on separation turns the worst weekend of a breakup into a checklist.
Taxes, benefits, and what contract law cannot change
Unmarried partners file as single (or head of household if one supports a qualifying dependent): the IRS explains filing status in Publication 501. No agreement can create the tax treatment married couples get: no joint return, no unlimited marital gift and estate deduction, no spousal IRA, no automatic Social Security survivor benefits. Large transfers between unmarried partners can even be taxable gifts. The agreement governs what you owe each other; it cannot rewrite what federal law grants only to spouses.
That is why the agreement travels with an estate planning kit. Each partner needs a will (unmarried partners inherit nothing by default), a medical power of attorney naming the partner for health decisions, and a durable power of attorney for finances during incapacity. Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance complete the set, since those pass outside both the will and this agreement.
What to keep out of the agreement
Keep the agreement financial. Clauses about chores, fidelity, or personal behavior are unenforceable and can taint the rest of the document. Child custody and child support cannot be predetermined by contract in any state. And remember the things this agreement does not replace: unmarried partners have no inheritance rights, so each partner still needs a will, and no authority in a medical crisis, so consider a medical power of attorney naming your partner.
How to put a cohabitation agreement in place, step by step
- Exchange honest financial snapshots: income, significant assets, and debts each partner brings in.
- List separate property worth protecting (savings, a home, family items) and attach or photograph the list.
- Decide the expense split: equal, income-proportional, or custom, and who pays which accounts.
- Settle the home clause: ownership, equity for contributions or not, and move-out notice.
- Choose the support option: mutual waiver or leaving the question to applicable law.
- Add specifics under additional terms: pets, vehicles, a business one partner runs, or a joint account protocol.
- Sign and date together, before a notary for maximum weight, with a signed original for each partner.
- Revisit after major changes: buying property, a child, a big income shift, or an engagement (then switch to a prenup).
When to involve a professional
Two renters splitting expenses can safely self-help. Get individual legal advice when a home purchase, a business, or a support waiver after career sacrifices is on the table, and always when one partner has vastly more wealth or bargaining power. This service provides documents and general information, not legal advice for your specific situation.
Frequently asked questions
Is a cohabitation agreement legally binding?
Yes. Courts in nearly every state enforce written agreements between unmarried partners about property, expenses, and support under ordinary contract law. The agreement should deal with finances, be signed by both partners, and ideally be notarized.
Do we need a cohabitation agreement if we rent?
It is still worthwhile. The agreement records who is on the lease, how rent and utilities are shared, and who keeps the furniture and other things you buy together, which are the most common disputes when renting partners separate.
Does living together for 7 years make us common law married?
No. That is a myth: no state grants common law marriage based on time alone, and most states abolished it entirely. In the few that recognize it, the couple must agree to be married and hold themselves out as married. This agreement expressly disclaims any such intent.
What happens to the agreement if we get married?
This template ends automatically upon marriage, because marriage law then takes over. Couples who want their financial arrangement to survive into the marriage should sign a prenuptial agreement before the wedding.
Can the agreement say who keeps our pet if we split up?
Yes. Pets are property in every state, so the agreement can assign ownership. Add it under additional terms, or use a dedicated pet care agreement for shared custody arrangements and expense sharing.
Does a cohabitation agreement need a lawyer to be valid?
No state requires one for validity. Independent advice for each partner becomes genuinely important when the agreement waives support after career sacrifices, involves a jointly purchased home, or pairs partners with very unequal wealth, because those are the agreements most likely to be challenged.
Can we make the agreement cover support (palimony)?
Yes, in most states an express written support promise or waiver between unmarried partners is enforceable, and some states (New Jersey, Minnesota) enforce support promises only if written. This template offers a mutual waiver or leaving the question open; a one-sided support promise should be drafted with counsel.
What happens to property we bought together if we separate?
Under this template, jointly bought items are owned in the shares you recorded, divided by agreement at separation, and anything you cannot agree on is sold with proceeds split by ownership share. Keeping receipts for major purchases makes that clause effortless to apply.
Does the agreement protect me if my partner dies?
Only partly. It can document your ownership of shared property, but it does not make you an heir: without a will naming you, your partner's estate passes to their family. Pair the agreement with wills and beneficiary designations to actually protect each other at death.
Can one agreement cover a couple who split time between two states?
Yes. The agreement names a governing state (this template uses the state of the shared home), and contract choice-of-law clauses are generally respected. If you relocate permanently, review the agreement under the new state's rules, especially if it recognizes common law marriage.