Cohabitation Agreement
(NY)

Summary

This template is a cohabitation agreement for use in New York. In addition to the waivers and acknowledgements customarily included in a cohabitation agreement, this template contains provisions for separate and joint property, post-separation support, and children of the relationship. This template includes practical guidance and drafting notes. A cohabitation agreement is a non-marital agreement entered into by two parties who reside together, and often are in an intimate committed relationship. The agreement provides parties with the opportunity to define each of their rights and obligations during their relationship, in the event of the termination of their relationship and in the event of the death of one of the parties. Among the benefits that a cohabitation agreement can provide are: guaranteeing the less financially secure party a fair settlement, limiting the liability of the more financially secure party, compensating a party for time spent as homemaker and caretaker, disclosing the financial assets of each party, assigning responsibility for joint living expenses, and avoiding future litigation. Unlike marital agreements, which are executed by parties in order to opt out of the statutory and case law framework of the New York Domestic Relations Law, a cohabitation agreement is an opt-in agreement. It is an agreement between two unrelated persons, and general contract principles apply. However, two important considerations apply to cohabitation agreements: (1) a party cannot be legally married to a third party at the time of executing the cohabitation agreement [Donnell v. Stogel, 161 A.D. 2d 93 (2nd Dept. 1990)], and (2) "sexual relations [can]not be part of the consideration of the contract." [Morone v. Morone, 413 N.E.2d 1154 (Court of Appeals, 1980)]. For further information, see Domestic Partnerships and Non-marital Cohabitation Agreements (NY).