Buying with someone you are not married to

There is a settled way of talking about joint ownership. It is worth asking how much of it survives contact with the detail.

The default may not suit you

Most systems offer a form of joint ownership where the survivor automatically takes the whole, and another where each holds a defined share. The first suits couples intending everything to pass to the survivor; the second suits unequal contributions or separate estates. Choosing without understanding the difference is common and consequential.

Document unequal contributions

Where one party puts in a larger deposit, a declaration of trust or equivalent records the shares and how proceeds are divided. Without it, a court may treat the beneficial interest differently from what either party assumed. It costs a modest legal fee at purchase and is expensive to reconstruct in a dispute.

Cohabiting is not marriage in law

In many jurisdictions there is no such thing as a common-law spouse, whatever the length of the relationship. Rights on separation and on death can be minimal without documentation, regardless of contributions made.

This surprises people consistently and is worth confirming for your own jurisdiction.

Cover the exit at the start

Agreeing in advance what happens if one party wants out — a right of first refusal, a valuation method, a notice period — prevents the worst version of that conversation. It is much easier to agree while both parties are content. Recording it alongside the declaration of trust costs almost nothing extra.

Wills matter more than people think

Where ownership does not pass automatically to the survivor, a will determines who receives a share. Intestacy rules frequently do not favour an unmarried partner, and can leave them living with a stranger's inheritance. Two simple wills at the point of purchase close that gap.

The takeaway

Decide how you hold it, write down the shares, and make wills. All three at purchase.

Pick the one that costs you least, and let the rest wait.