Vanessa Paradis has put to bed any rumours of a split with Johnny Depp. They have been together for 14 years; they have two children but were never married. In the States, statistics show that marriage is on the decline and more and more couples choose to cohabit over marriage. This is a similar pattern to the UK with National Statistics showing since 2001, the number of cohabiting couple families have risen from 2.1 million to 2.9 million. The continuing economic crisis and financial insecurity is no doubt a contribution to the decline in marriage. It is vitally important to consider protecting your assets if you are setting up a home with your partner by entering into a cohabitation agreement. This is a legally binding document entered into by both to regulate your affairs in relation to money, property etc during the time you lived together and also deals with what will happen in the event of the relationship breaking down. Let’s hope the “Pirate of the Caribbean” has one in place, as this will save a lot of legal argument and cost in the long run. By Lorraine Harvey
An experienced solicitor and family mediator, a robust advocate and one who gives realistic advice from day one.
