MAS: Unmarried couples

If you both own part of the business, or one of you owns it but the other works for it, you may not want this to continue when your relationship has broken down. Think about how you are going to deal with this, and how it may impact others affected by the business, such as employees and suppliers. If you are the person leaving the business, think about where you might work and how you will generate an income. If your business affairs are complicated or you would like further advice, speak to a solicitor and/or accountant – see Useful links.

You will need to deal with joint bank accounts as part of any financial agreement or order. Usually these are closed or transferred into the name of one of you. You and your spouse, civil partner or partner will use accounts set up in your sole names moving forwards.

If you are going to need a mortgage to help you buy a property, you may want to speak to a mortgage adviser before you start looking, to give you an idea of what price range you can afford, the type of mortgage that might be suitable and any mortgage fees involved - see Useful links.

Property can be owned in the names of one or more people. If you're not sure whether you own your home jointly with your partner and, if you do, how it is owned, you can check the position quickly and cheaply by getting a copy of the records of the property from the Land Registry website - www.landregistry.gov.uk. It is public information. Alternatively, ask the solicitor who dealt with the purchase for you to confirm how the property is held.

If there is a mortgage on the home, you will need to take this into account when deciding what to do. If one of you stays in the home, will the mortgage be affordable and who will pay it? Is it possible to pay off the mortgage? Can the mortgage be transferred to just one of you or would remortgaging make sense?

If you cannot agree, you or your partner will need to make an application for the court to decide what is to happen to your home. The orders a court can make depend on whether you own the property jointly with your partner and, if not, whether you can show that you have an interest in the property because of contributions that you have made to it. This is a complicated area of law and you should speak to a solicitor to find out what your rights are.

As parents, you are both financially responsible for your children, including any adopted children. This means the parent without main day-to-day care is expected to help with the cost of looking after the children. This is usually done by paying maintenance to the parent who does.

How easily you can give up a rented home depends on the type of tenancy agreement you have and how long you have been there. Whether or not you have the right to stay on depends on whose name is on the lease.

As soon as it is clear that the separation is going ahead, try to agree urgent, short term financial matters with your partner. If you cannot agree or are worried your partner may deal with the finances without telling you, consider taking the following steps to protect your position:

Think about how your separation will impact on the business and others affected by it, such as employees and suppliers.

• Budgeting, bills and benefits
• Bank accounts
• Borrowing
• Insurance
• Savings and planning ahead
• Planning for
  retirement
• Writing or reviewing your Will
• Tax
• Financial problems and debt
• Maintenance
• Future considerations and changes

Whatever your circumstances, deciding to move out is a big decision. You need to think about where you will go and whether you can afford to buy or rent a new property. Since you may not know what your financial position is going to be until after a financial settlement has been agreed or a court order made you may want to stay where you are until then.

Shop around for the bank account that suits you best. The type of account you need will depend on what you want to use it for, savings, day to day expenditure or something else.

If you and your partner are in partnership together, think about how your separation will impact on the business and others affected by it, such as employees and suppliers.

Your own belongings are yours alone and your partner does not have any automatic legal right to them. If you own items jointly, you own them in the shares you put towards the purchase price. For example if you put £100 towards a £400 television, you own one-quarter of it. If you do own things jointly, you will have to decide whether to buy out your partner's share, sell them your share, or sell the items and split the proceeds. You may prefer simply to divide up the things you own jointly between you. Except for things like antiques and artwork, most items are worth less when sold second hand than they were bought for or would cost to replace.