Advice for newly engaged couples

Family Law covers relationships from the start. Our Senior Associate Hayley Mitchell has recently become engaged, and we asked her what advice she would give to other couples at this happy time.

Hayley says:

“I have to practice what I preach! Strong relationships need good communication about tricky issues including money and about what might happen in the future. There is never a better time to reach agreement on these matters than at the point in your relationship when you truly love and trust each other.

We have decided to use Johnson Legal to write up a written agreement to set out what should happen with our savings and pensions if we separate. It is a busy year for us, my fiancé and I are also buying a house together, so the agreement will also set out the different amounts of money we are contributing to the deposit so that we know what each of us will receive if the property is sold in future.

Finally, we will use the agreement to set out what will happen to our beloved cats should we separate. This can be a hugely painful discussion for separated couples that I would prefer to avoid.

We know that this agreement is an insurance policy, and it is one that I hope we never have to use. It is hugely reassuring to know that if we ever split up (and I really hope that we don’t!), there will be no nasty surprises and that we will be able to do so with dignity and minimum cost.

We will also now be updating our wills and setting up powers of attorneys. No one ever wants to think about dying or becoming unwell, but death comes for us all and old age comes for the lucky. The difficult discussions are worth the peace of mind achieved by sorting everything out before catastrophe strikes.”

Johnson Legal offer a fixed fee for an agreement to deal solely with a jointly owned home, or bespoke agreements to deal with all of the issues which might be relevant for co-habiting or married couples. If you would like further information about this, please call our Family Law team on 0131 622 8422 to set up a free, no obligation chat with one of our Family Law solicitors.