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Cohabiting couples: not married but living together rights
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Splitting-up terms when cohabiting
Cohabiting couples’ legal rights on separation
PacisLexis Family Law
Not married but living together rights
In France, cohabiting is the simplest and freer legal solution. The French word for cohabitation is “concubinage”.
According to the French civil law article 515-8, cohabitation is defined as two same-sex or different people, who are unmarried or not in a civil partnership living together in a long-term relationship.
Splitting-up when you’re cohabiting is legal-consequence free except if there is a serious ground.
Splitting-up as a cohabiting couple can be challenging when there are shared assets, properties, and belongings.
Basically, splitting-up is easy however you must figure out the terms and conditions.
When separating, a family law lawyer is really helpful.
not married but living together rights
Splitting-up terms when cohabiting
What is the splitting-up rule when cohabiting?
You are free to split up. There is no legal rule and agreement when you are cohabiting.
Cohabiting couples don’t have the same legal rights and obligations as married couples or civil partnerships so that their split-up.
Cohabiting couples have no legal status. So as an individual if you decide to split up, you can.
Moreover, you are not entitled to claim maintenance when you separate except if a there is a serious ground.
That is why we strongly advise you to contact our lawyers firm to draft an agreement before living together.
What is considered as a ground when cohabiting?
You can split up whenever you want but it’s about how you do it and you can face legal proceedings.
To sue your partner, you will need to bring evidence of the breach. If the breach is considered as a ground, you are entitled to claim maintenance.
Regarding the French law, there must be a serious offence when claiming maintenance.
3 conditions must be met to engage a partner’s responsibility:
- The existence of a breach
- The existence of a ground
- The link between the ground and the breach
The claimant will have to evidence the ground of the split-up.
If not, the claimant can not claim maintenance and damages.
Some French jurisdictions have approved some split-up claims. Here are some examples:
- A brutal split-up after long years of cohabitation
- A split-up during the pregnancy
- A split-up after a sexual offence on the daughter of a cohabiting couple
- Desertion of a partner leaving children and wife without financial assistance.
All examples can not be listed here. Your claim is submitted to the family law judge’s decision.
A claim can be filed if there is only a breach. An offence or a ground must exist and must be proved. The ground can be regarding assets and properties or moral.
The proof must be evidenced by the claimant or the petitioner.
not married but living together rights
Cohabiting couples’ legal rights on separation
Assets and financial matters when splitting-up
When splitting-up you have no guaranteed rights to ownership of each other’s property and assets. You will need to evidence.
- Housing: you need title deeds
Regarding housing if your partner is the sole owner, you have no rights to remain in the home of you are asked to leave.
If you are joint owners:
- You will have to sell the house if you split-up.
- Regarding your incomes and other assets, you remain the owner.
All joint properties and assets are divided according to the title deeds or in half if there is no proves of each partner’s payments.
Regarding donations, nothing can be claimed.
We are renting a house, what shall we do?
Both partners are joint tenants. However, recent changes in the French law regarding a partner’s desertion stipulate that the tenancy remains in place for the other partner if they have lived together for at least a year.
In case of a sole tenancy being cancelled before splitting-up, you can not convert the sole tenancy with your partner’s name to yours.
Children arrangements
Cohabiting couples are entitled to the same rights than a civil partnership or marriage dissolution for children maintenance and arrangements.
You may make arrangements for your children such as:
- Parental responsibility terms and conditions
- Decision about housing for the children to live in
- Financial needs and education of the children
- Custody
To help you
and to care
PacisLexis Family Law
You want to learn more about your rights as a cohabiting couple?
PacisLexis Family law can guide you through the process of getting a divorce in a friendly and amicable manner, helping you and your partner too with understanding and respect.
When necessary, our experienced family law lawyers will represent you in a contested divorce, ensuring your rights are protected throughout the legal proceedings.
PacisLexis Family Law
Our divorce & separation articles
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If you are an expatriate couple considering divorce in Europe, understanding how to choose the applicable law is crucial. The Rome III Regulation—in force for certain EU countries—gives spouses the right to choose which national law will govern their divorce or legal separation. But the process can be tricky, especially for couples with ties to different countries or different legal traditions—like French civil law and common law systems.
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When life circumstances change, so too might the needs of your family, particularly when it comes to child arrangement orders. Whether you’re navigating this issue under common law systems (like in the UK or US) or within French family law, understanding your options is crucial.
Ex-partner is refusing to leave the family home
When getting a divorce, spouses stop living together.
Most of the time, it’s a normal breakup process.
However, sometimes a partner refuses to leave the family home. This situation can become quickly tricky and also can lead to domestic violence.