Texas is one of the few states that still recognizes common law marriage — which creates a confusing gap for unmarried couples living together. You might not think of yourselves as married, and you might not intend to be, but depending on how you present your relationship, Texas law might see it differently. A cohabitation agreement is how couples living together outside of marriage protect themselves either way — whether the goal is to avoid an accidental common law marriage or to define property and support rights that wouldn’t otherwise exist. This is a conversation worth having with a dallas divorce lawyer even before any dispute arises, since these agreements work best when there’s no conflict yet.
Why Unmarried Couples in Texas Have Less Legal Protection Than They Think
Without a cohabitation agreement, an unmarried couple living together in Texas generally has no automatic property rights in each other’s assets, no automatic inheritance rights, no spousal support obligations, and no built-in framework for dividing jointly acquired property if the relationship ends. Everything defaults to individual ownership based on whose name is on the title, deed, or account — regardless of how the couple actually managed finances day to day.
This becomes a real problem when couples combine finances, buy property together, or one partner supports the household while the other builds a career or business, without any written agreement addressing what happens if the relationship ends.
The Common Law Marriage Wrinkle
Texas recognizes common law (informal) marriage, which can be established without a ceremony or license if a couple:
- Agrees to be married,
- Lives together in Texas as spouses, and
- Represents to others that they are married (holding out as married)
All three elements generally need to be present, and disputes over whether an informal marriage existed can become contested legal issues themselves — sometimes only surfacing after a breakup or death, when one party claims a common law marriage existed and the other disputes it.
A cohabitation agreement can work in either direction here: it can explicitly state that the couple does not intend to be married, helping avoid an unintended common law marriage claim, or — for couples who do want some of the legal protections of marriage without formalizing it — it can define specific rights and obligations that approximate a marital agreement.
What a Cohabitation Agreement Typically Covers
A well-drafted agreement addresses the practical questions that only come up when things go wrong:
- Property acquired during the relationship — how it’s characterized (individual vs. jointly owned) and how it would be divided if the relationship ends
- Property brought into the relationship — protecting what each partner owned beforehand
- Debt responsibility — who’s responsible for what, particularly for jointly incurred debt
- Financial contributions — how expenses, mortgage or rent payments, and household costs are handled, and what happens if contributions were unequal
- Support provisions — whether either partner intends to provide support if the relationship ends, and under what conditions
- What happens to shared property (a home, a vehicle, a business) if the relationship ends
- Statement of marital intent — explicitly addressing whether the couple does or doesn’t consider themselves informally married
What a Cohabitation Agreement Doesn’t Do
It’s not a substitute for estate planning. Even a thorough cohabitation agreement won’t automatically grant inheritance rights, healthcare decision-making authority, or other protections that married couples get by default. Unmarried couples generally still need a will, and often a medical power of attorney and other estate planning documents, to cover those areas — a cohabitation agreement and an estate plan work together, not as substitutes for each other.
Is a Cohabitation Agreement Legally Enforceable in Texas?
Generally, yes, when properly drafted — Texas courts will enforce cohabitation agreements as contracts, provided they meet standard contract requirements: both parties entered into it knowingly and voluntarily, with adequate disclosure of assets, and without fraud, duress, or unconscionable terms. This is another reason working with an attorney to draft the agreement matters — a poorly drafted or one-sided agreement is more vulnerable to being challenged later.
When Couples Should Seriously Consider One
- Before moving in together, particularly if one partner is bringing significantly more assets into the household
- Before buying property jointly
- When one partner is financially supporting the other, or supporting a household while the other isn’t working
- When either partner has children from a previous relationship and wants to protect their inheritance
- When the couple has been together long enough, and presents publicly enough as a couple, that a common law marriage claim could plausibly be raised later
What Happens Without One
Without a cohabitation agreement, if the relationship ends, disputes over jointly used property, shared debt, or financial contributions typically have to be resolved through general contract or property law principles — a much less predictable process than the specific framework Texas family courts use for married couples’ divorces. This can mean protracted disputes over things a written agreement would have settled clearly from the start.
Talk to a Dallas Family Law Attorney
Whether you’re trying to avoid an unintended common law marriage, protect assets you’re bringing into a relationship, or simply create clarity around shared property and finances, a cohabitation agreement is far easier to put in place before there’s a disagreement than to sort out after one. A family law attorney dallas couples work with can help draft an agreement that actually holds up if it’s ever tested.
This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every situation is different — contact our office to discuss the specific facts of yours.