Three tiers between marriage and simply living together
A civil or registered partnership is a formal status carrying most of the effects of marriage: maintenance, a property regime, inheritance, and dissolution only through a procedure. A lighter registration confers individual rights — housing, next-of-kin status, some social entitlements — without the full bond. And unregistered cohabitation creates, in most countries, no mutual claims whatsoever.
The most widespread misconception
The belief that after some years of living together a marriage-like status arises automatically is simply wrong in most systems. A minority do attach consequences to cohabitation after a qualifying period, mainly around the home and financial adjustment — but that is the exception. The general rule is blunt: no agreement, no claim, however long the relationship lasted.
What an agreement can and cannot do
A cohabitation agreement can record who owns what, who pays for what and how things will be divided on separation. It generally cannot create inheritance rights and cannot create pension entitlements. For death you need a will as well — and it has to take account of any forced-heirship rules, which in many countries tie up a large part of the estate regardless of what the will says.
Protection in an emergency
Without formal status, a partner may be unable to make decisions or even obtain information if the other is seriously ill. A power of attorney and an advance directive close that gap and are usually inexpensive to put in place. The same is true of the tenancy: whose name is on it determines who can stay in the home after a separation or a death.
Three documents that change everything
An agreement for property during life, a will for death, and a power of attorney for incapacity. Together they cost little and replace almost everything unmarried couples are missing by default.
The law country by country
The legal framework, the procedure, the time limits and the costs differ from one country to another. Each country below has a detailed page: governing texts, key facts, the actual procedure, costs, where to go and the traps to avoid.
Select a country to open its detailed page.