Firstly, misophonia, is a disorder in which certain sounds trigger emotional or physiological responses i.e your other half chewing sweets so loud you think they must be playing some kind of weird joke, but no, the only joke is how loud they think it is acceptable to chew said sweets! 

 

Secondly, many people think that just because they are not married, there are no legal consequences to cohabiting, but this is not always the case! 

 

Legal rights do arise, especially in terms of property. The Partner who is not the legal owner of the property may be able to establish a legal interest in the property, depending on the length of the cohabitation, as well as the length of the cohabitation, any improvements made to the property and the intentions of the parties. 

 

Our Family Law Solicitors in Lancaster recommend an open, honest and frank discussion before moving in together. A frank discussion can minimise misunderstandings further down the line as to the legal and financial situation. 

 

For an added layer of protection, you may also wish to create a cohabitation agreement. Our Family Law Solicitors in Lancaster can help you with this; you can find out what this entails (in detail), here, however (in brief) the cohabitation agreement can address matters such as the ownership of property, how you will pay rent/mortgages/household bills and division of household items in the event of separation. 

 

Cohabitating during lockdown may well be a temporary stage, particularly if you discover that the person you decided to cohabitate with chews louder than a cow chewing cud and slurps their drinks as quietly as a rhino drinking the dregs of milkshake through a straw, however if you do feel you can live with this long term, get in touch now via family@mglegal.co.uk or by calling 01524 581 306.