A Contracting Out Agreement is essentially a legal agreement between a couple that says: “We want to decide for ourselves how our property will be treated, rather than relying entirely on the default rules under the Property (Relationships) Act.” It allows couples to “contract out” of the standard equal-sharing rules which sounds very formal and dramatic, but in reality it is often just a practical conversation about expectations and fairness.

When you are juggling the emotions of a separation and negotiating your parenting and financial matters with an ex, it can be tempting to put off looking at your will to “another day”. But attending to your will, powers of attorney and how the ownership of your home is recorded are important aspects of comprehensively getting things sorted in order to avoid future problems for you and those you care about most. Here’s why -