Family Law
What a BC Cohabitation Agreement Should Include to Hold Up
By SiLaw Group Family LawyersPublished Nov 13, 2026 · 6 min read
A common-law/cohabitation-agreements" class="auto-link">cohabitation agreement in British Columbia should be written, witnessed, built on full financial disclosure, and signed with independent legal advice for each partner. Those are not formalities. They track the grounds on which section 93 of the Family Law Act lets a court set an agreement aside.
Our cohabitation agreements page explains what these agreements are for and when couples sign them. This post is narrower: what goes into the document so that it is still standing when someone tests it. SiLaw Group Family Lawyers drafts against the setting-aside sections deliberately, and this is the checklist we work from.
What Can a Cohabitation Agreement in BC Actually Decide?
A great deal. Section 92 of the Family Law Act allows spouses, despite the Act's default rules but subject to section 93, to make agreements respecting the division of property and debt, including agreements to divide family property or family debt equally or unequally, to include or exclude particular items, and to value property differently than section 87 of the Act would. It also covers who keeps a companion animal, which our pets and companion animals page explains.
Spousal support can be addressed too. Section 163(1) of the Family Law Act allows an agreement to set the circumstances in which support will change or end, and section 163(2) of the Act allows a spouse to release the other from liability for spousal support. Our support and agreements page explains the trade-offs.
What a cohabitation agreement cannot lock in is child support. Section 148(1) of the Family Law Act makes an agreement respecting child support binding only if it is made after separation or when the parties are about to separate, and section 148(3) of the Act lets a court set aside or replace a child support agreement if it would make a different order. Keep children's issues out of the cohabitation agreement.
What Formalities Does Section 93 Require?
Section 93(1) of the Family Law Act applies to a written agreement respecting division of property and debt with the signature of each spouse witnessed by at least one other person, and section 93(2) of the Act allows the same person to witness both signatures. Section 93(6) lets a court apply the section to an unwitnessed written agreement, but do not rely on that. Witness every signature and keep a signed original.
Section 94(2) of the Family Law Act is the payoff for getting the formalities right. The Supreme Court of British Columbia may not make an order dividing property or family debt that is the subject of a section 93(1) agreement unless all or part of the agreement is first set aside.
What Are the Grounds for Setting a Cohabitation Agreement Aside?
Under section 93(3) of the Family Law Act, the court may set aside or replace all or part of the agreement only if one or more of four circumstances existed when it was made:
- A spouse failed to disclose significant property or debts, or other information relevant to the negotiation of the agreement.
- A spouse took improper advantage of the other spouse's vulnerability, including the other spouse's ignorance, need or distress.
- A spouse did not understand the nature or consequences of the agreement.
- Other circumstances existed that would, under the common law, cause all or part of a contract to be voidable.
There is a second route. Under section 93(5) of the Family Law Act, even where none of those circumstances existed, the court may set aside or replace an agreement that is significantly unfair, considering the length of time since it was made, the spouses' intention in making it to achieve certainty, and the degree to which they relied on its terms.
What Should the Agreement Include?
A full schedule of assets and debts for each of you. This is the answer to the non-disclosure ground in section 93(3)(a) of the Family Law Act. List real estate, accounts, investments, pensions, business interests, vehicles and debts with values as at signing, and attach supporting statements. Under section 85(2) of the Act the spouse claiming an exclusion must demonstrate it, and a schedule signed at the start of cohabitation is strong evidence of what each person brought in. Our excluded property guide explains why those records win or lose cases.
The relationship start date. Section 3(3) of the Family Law Act dates a relationship from when the couple began living together in a marriage-like relationship, and the shared growth in excluded property is measured from that date under section 84(2)(g) of the Act. Agree on it in writing while you both remember.
Clear terms for the home. State who keeps it and how growth in value and mortgage payments are treated. This is the asset most agreements are really about.
Debt rules. State what each of you owes now and how borrowing during the relationship will be treated, since section 86 of the Family Law Act otherwise makes debt incurred during the relationship family debt regardless of whose name it is in.
Business interests. Decide now whether the business, its growth, or neither is shared, because it is the hardest asset to value later.
Spousal support terms, if any. Whether support is released under section 163(2) of the Family Law Act, capped, or left to the Act, say so expressly. Section 164 of the Act is the parallel setting-aside provision for support terms and adds non-disclosure of income to the grounds.
A review mechanism. This answers the significantly unfair route in section 93(5) of the Family Law Act. An agreement revisited when a home is bought, a child arrives, or a business is sold is harder to call significantly unfair years later, because both parties kept relying on it knowingly.
Independent legal advice for each partner. This is the answer to the vulnerability and understanding grounds in section 93(3)(b) and (c) of the Family Law Act. Each partner should receive advice from their own lawyer before signing, and the agreement should record that they did. Our fixed fee for independent legal advice is $545 plus GST and PST (as of September 2026), and our pricing and fees page explains what that covers. Circulate drafts early, because a signature the night before a move invites the vulnerability argument.
How Long Does Someone Have to Challenge the Agreement?
Section 198(3) of the Family Law Act gives a spouse two years to apply to set aside or replace an agreement respecting property or spousal support, running from the date the spouse first discovered, or reasonably ought to have discovered, the grounds. An undisclosed account found years later can reopen a settled agreement, so disclose at signing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Cohabitation Agreement Legally Binding in BC?
Written, witnessed agreements about property and debt are expressly contemplated by sections 92 and 93 of the Family Law Act, and section 94(2) of the Act prevents a property order contrary to one unless it is first set aside. An agreement built with full disclosure and independent advice is in the strongest position the Act allows. No lawyer can promise it will never be challenged.
Can We Sign Before We Move In Together?
Signing early is common and usually the calmest time to negotiate. The Family Law Act speaks of agreements between spouses, so how its framework applies to an agreement signed before spousal status arises is a question for advice on your facts. Our two-year rule page explains when that status begins.
Do We Each Need Our Own Lawyer?
Our practice is that each partner receives independent legal advice before signing. Two of the four grounds in section 93(3) of the Family Law Act are about vulnerability and understanding, and separate advice is the cleanest answer to both. Our family law agreements page explains how we structure that.
Talk to a Lawyer About Your Cohabitation Agreement
Whether you are moving in together, approaching two years, or buying a home, an agreement drafted against section 93 of the Family Law Act protects both of you. The first 30 minutes with SiLaw Group are free, by phone, video, or in person in South Surrey. Call (778) 381-9977 or Book Now for a Free Consultation.
This post is legal information, not legal advice. Rules and fees are current to the date of writing and can change.
About SiLaw Group
SiLaw Group Family Lawyers is a Surrey, BC firm practising family law and mediation. Founder Sandy Sihota is an accredited Family Law Mediator, Arbitrator and Parenting Coordinator (Law Society of BC). Articles are legal information, not legal advice.