A life partnership refers to living together (cohabitation)outside marriage in a relationship which is similar to, or has most of the characteristics of a marriage. We advise our clients on all legal aspects of entering into Life Partnership Agreements, see to drafting and notarially executing such Agreements.
This Agreement can be a requirement for some legal applications, such as obtaining residence visas in South Africa if you are in a Life Partnership Agreement (Spousal Visa) or to prove a cohabitation arrangement for purposes of obtaining a housing agreement with certain Government institutions.
A Life Partnership Agreement has to be entered into between prospective life partners, dealing with matters such as the following:
Description of the parties
Residential addresses of the parties
Assets and Liabilities - for example each party will retain his own assets brought into the relationship or parties will share in accrual of each other's estates, just as it would have been the case with entering into an antenuptial contract
The joint home - whether it is jointly or solely owned
If the common home is jointly owned, such co-ownership, including the proportion of the respective shares, must be portrayed int he title agreement. In the contract, reference can be made to the distribution
If the common home is leased property, the contract should state the procedure with regard to evacuation of the property after termination of the relationship
A procedure for the division of household goods should be included. A document listing private property owned at the inception of the relationship, or acquired during the relationship can be attached, thereby excluding such property from division
Regulation of financial matters during the partnership
Children and support issues
Maintenance arrangements should be expressed in the agreement.
We will require both parties to appear in front of our Notary or provide us with a Power of Attorney for one of the attorneys in our office to appear in front of the Notary. We will need certified copies of the parties' Identity Documents and Proof of Address for our FICA purposes.