Buying a home with an unmarried partner

Buying a home with a partner you're not married to is increasingly common and completely reasonable — but the law treats it very differently from a married couple's purchase. Marriage comes with a built-in framework for how property is owned and divided; unmarried co-buyers get none of that by default. Everything that a divorce court would sort out has to be decided in advance, in writing, by you. Done right, co-buying works beautifully. Done on trust alone, a breakup can turn your largest asset into an expensive legal fight. This is general education, not legal advice — a real estate attorney should paper your specific arrangement.

How you hold title matters enormously

• Joint tenants with right of survivorship: you each own an equal share, and if one dies, the other automatically inherits their share — bypassing a will. Simple, but it assumes a 50/50 split and equal claims.
• Tenants in common: you can own unequal shares (say 70/30 to match unequal down payments), and each person's share passes to their own heirs, not automatically to the co-owner. More flexible for uneven contributions.
• One person on title: sometimes only one partner is on the deed or the loan (for credit or qualification reasons). The off-title partner has no ownership claim without a separate written agreement, no matter how much they pay.

The cohabitation property agreement

The single most important document for unmarried co-buyers is a written agreement — often called a cohabitation or property agreement — that spells out what happens in every scenario before emotions are involved. It's the private contract that stands in for the legal defaults marriage would provide. Skipping it is the mistake that turns breakups into lawsuits.

• Ownership shares: who owns what percentage, and how that reflects down payment and ongoing contributions.
• Expense split: how the mortgage, taxes, insurance, repairs, and improvements are divided month to month.
• Exit rules: if one partner wants out, does the other have the right to buy them out first, at what valuation, and on what timeline? What if neither can afford to?
• Breakup and sale: the process for selling, splitting proceeds, and handling a partner who wants to stay while the other wants to sell.
• Death: what happens to each share — which is why the title form and estate documents must line up.

Money mechanics to settle up front

1. 1
   Match ownership share to contribution

   If one partner puts in a bigger down payment, tenants-in-common with unequal shares (documented) usually fits better than an assumed 50/50.

2. 2
   Decide who's on the loan and why

   If one partner has stronger credit, putting only them on the mortgage may get a better rate — but protect the other's stake with the written agreement and title.

3. 3
   Set up a shared housing account

   Fund the mortgage and house expenses from a joint account both contribute to, and keep records — it prevents 'who paid what' disputes later.

4. 4
   Update your estate documents

   Without marriage, a will or beneficiary designations control what happens to your share on death. Align them with your title choice.

The bottom line

Unmarried co-buyers must build by contract the protections marriage provides by default. Choose a title form that matches your contributions and inheritance wishes, decide deliberately who's on the loan versus the deed, and — above all — sign a written cohabitation agreement covering ownership shares, expenses, buyouts, and breakups. Bring in a real estate attorney to draft it. The paperwork feels unromantic, but it's what lets a co-purchase stay a partnership instead of becoming a lawsuit.