Young couples living together to save on housing costs need to sign this often overlooked pact — Laurie Pawlitz speaks to the Globe & Mail on the importance of cohabitation agreements

Laurie Pawlitza gets a lot of starry-eyed clients in her office – they’re often young couples who are moving in to their first home and come in asking for cohabitation agreements to protect their assets. But many aren’t there of their own accord.

“It’s parents who may have helped buy properties for their kids – that’s why we see the cohabitation agreements,” says Ms. Pawlitza, a partner in the family law group at Torkin Manes in Toronto. “They want an agreement that will protect the initial investment.”

Ms. Pawlitza also sees clients such as these when their relationships end – the couples in their 20s and 30s who have moved in together, often to save on housing costs – and over the years have become common law. Suddenly, they are splitting properties, assets and savings – facing financial challenges they didn’t foresee.

This article was originally published in the Globe & Mail. To read the complete article, visit the Globe & Mail's website.