Everything You Need to Know About Cohabiting with Your Partner

Moving in with your partner for the first time can seem very exciting at first, but once you’re in that house together it’s a whole different ball game. Find out how, here…

No matter how ready you think you are for cohabiting together, there’ll be things you ever thought to prepare for. For some couples, starting off by speaking to solicitors near Alton, Farnham, or whatever city you live near to organise a legal cohabitation agreement should be considered.

In this post, we’re going to share our long list of things you need to know before you decide to cohabit with your partner so you can make sure you’re fully prepared for the journey. Take a look…

What Do You Need to Know Before Moving in with Your Partner?

Before you decide to saddle up and cohabit with your partner, make sure you’ve considered the following:

Sort out the legal stuff

Adding legal paperwork to a relationship is just about the least romantic thing you could do with your partner. But, if you’re serious about living together and want to make sure you’re financially stable, you should make sure you have an agreement in place.

Also, depending on how you look at it, it could be seen as a declaration of how serious you are about each other, considering you’re legally binding all your financial assets.

A cohabitation agreement is a document that lays out how you and your partner intend to live, for example:

• Will you be sharing bank accounts or keeping them separate?
• How will you divide spending on things like food and household items?
• Who will pay to redecorate the home?
• What shares will you both have in the property?
• What happens if you break up? Who gets what?

These agreements can be quite difficult to draft yourself so, if you’re going to go down this route, it’s best that you speak to a local family law solicitor to make sure it’s all legal and above board.

Set boundaries

With the legal stuff out of the way, it’s time to discuss how to actually cohabit with each other. Setting boundaries early on is one of the best ways to make sure there aren’t arguments further down the line.

Just let your partner know what you are and aren’t comfortable with when it comes to the amount of time you want to spend together, the sharing of household items, and how much personal space you need.

Redecorate together

Who puts more effort into decorating your home depends on how much each of you like decorating, but it’s generally a good idea for you both to get involved.

Even if the stuff you’re moving in is mostly one partner’s or the other, deciding where these items go and where the pictures should be hung etc. should involve the two of you. This way, you won’t end up with one partner feeling like a guest in their own home.

Also, redecorating together is a great bonding experience, and will make both of you feel more comfortable in the home. It should also help you avoid any décor-related disagreements in the future.

Don’t spend all your time in the house

In the beginning, you’ll want to spend a lot of time together in your new home because it’s novel and you’ve never lived together before. However, once you’ve been cohabiting for a while, it’s a good idea to get back out there and go on dates or trips like you used to.

Just because you’re now living together, doesn’t mean going out and doing nice things is off the table. If anything, only seeing your partner in the house can cause the relationship to stagnate, which neither of you want to happen.

Take some alone time

On that same note, you’re going to be around your partner all the time in your home, especially if you both work from home or both work the 9 to 5 and spend the nights together, so you might need a bit of space.

Watching Netflix a few nights a week together is great, but not every night. Keep up with your current hobbies, go out and see your friends, go read a book in another room; anything that stops you from becoming co-dependent and makes the time you do spend together more special.

Don’t be afraid to be gross

Now this definitely differs from couple to couple, but a general rule when moving in with someone is to remember that they’re a human being. When you’re used to going out on dates with someone and you’re all scrubbed up in your best outfits, you might think your partner is this way 24/7.

However, once you move in together, you’re both going to do disgusting things that the other person might not like, and dress in comfortable clothes that aren’t overly flattering. That’s just part and parcel of cohabiting with someone.

You need to embrace each other in your natural states, and accept that looking and smelling your best at all times is an unreasonable and uncomfortable expectation.

Never resent each other

The last piece of advice we’re going to share with you in this post is to never resent your partner.

When you decide to cohabit with someone, resentment can easily build up if someone:

• Isn’t doing their share of the cleaning;
• Doesn’t spend enough time with you;
• Checks their phone too much when you’re trying to speak to them;
• and a whole host of other potential issues.

Once this happens the best thing you can do is talk about it, and make it known that it’s something that you’re starting to harbour resentment over. If you don’t practice discussing these issues, you’ll both sit in your pits of resentment, as more and more issues are piled on. This could lead to the breakdown of your relationship.

Ready to Cohabit with Your Partner?

In this post, we’ve shared some things you need to know before moving in with your partner for the first time.

There are more things to learn about cohabiting with your partner, but the considerations we’ve shared here are some of the most important. As long as you make sure you set boundaries, balance time together with alone time, and never harbour resentment, your cohabitation with your partner should be a glowing success.

Please be advised that this article is for general informational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for advice from a trained legal professional. Be sure to consult a legal professional if you’re looking to cohabit with your partner. We are not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.