Buying Property Together Before Marriage
Important questions to answer before you sign the contract — not after.
Property and relationships are increasingly intertwined
Many couples in Australia now purchase property together before they are married — or even before they consider themselves in a formal de facto relationship. Rising property prices mean couples often feel they need to buy together to afford to buy at all.
This creates real legal questions that couples often do not think through carefully enough. If the relationship ends before marriage, what happens to the property? If one partner contributed more to the deposit, is that reflected in ownership? If one partner was given money by their family for the deposit, is that still their money?
Ownership structure matters
In Australia, property can be owned in two main ways: as joint tenants or as tenants in common.
Joint tenants own equal shares. If one owner dies, the other automatically inherits the property. If the relationship ends, each partner is entitled to half.
Tenants in common can own unequal shares — for example, 60% and 40%. On death, each person's share passes according to their will rather than automatically to the other. On separation, each partner is entitled to their documented share.
If one partner is contributing more — a larger deposit, a family gift, ongoing mortgage payments — tenants in common with documented shares may better reflect that reality. Your conveyancer and lawyer can advise on what is appropriate.
What happens if you separate before marriage
If a couple separates before they are legally married, the property settlement rules that apply depend on whether they are considered to be in a de facto relationship.
Under Australian law, a de facto relationship is generally one where two people live together as a couple on a genuine domestic basis. If a court finds you were in a de facto relationship, the Family Law Act property provisions may apply — including the court's power to adjust property interests based on each partner's contributions.
Even if the property ownership is documented clearly, a court has the power to make orders that depart from the legal ownership structure in certain circumstances. A financial agreement provides a much cleaner outcome by documenting what both partners agreed to in advance.
Family contributions to the deposit
It is common for parents to help one or both partners with a property deposit. If that help is given to one partner specifically — not to the couple jointly — it may be important to document that clearly.
Without documentation, a deposit contribution from one partner's family may be treated as a contribution to the joint property rather than as something belonging to the recipient alone. A financial agreement can address this directly.
A financial agreement alongside property purchase
Couples purchasing property together before marriage should consider preparing a financial agreement at the same time — or at least before the purchase settles.
The agreement can document each person's financial contribution to the purchase, what happens to the property if the relationship ends, how ongoing costs and mortgage repayments will be treated, and how any family contributions should be characterised.
This conversation is much easier to have before you own the property together than after.