Rights of separation from a cohabitation agreement?

Questioner

My partner and I are probably going to split up after 13 years. He is ending the relationship. We are not married, but we do have a cohabitation agreement. About 12 years ago I gave notice of my rental and moved into his house (the house is mortgage-free). He then adopted my daughter, she is now 21 years old and still lives at home. During those years I took care of the children (he had a son from a previous relationship) and since 2018 I have been working a few hours a week in addition to studying. The house is fully in his name and the cohabitation contract also states that the house is his. Am I entitled to half of the equity when I sell the house? I know a story from my environment where exactly the same thing happened, only the house was in the woman's name. But because the man had taken care of the children all those years while she worked, he was entitled to half of the surplus value.

Lawyer

In order to answer this question properly, it is important to look at the content of the cohabitation agreement. You will probably not be able to claim half of the equity, but it is possible that certain agreements have been made in the cohabitation agreement on the basis of which you may now be entitled to something. If you are not able to claim half of the equity, there may still be other matters that need to be divided, such as, but not limited to, household effects, money in (joint) bank accounts, cars and/or other assets and debts. If you wish, you can contact us so that we can see if we can be of any assistance to you in this regard.