De facto cohabitation creates specific rights and duties, but it does not automatically produce all the effects of marriage. If you live with your partner in Milan, it is natural to wonder what happens to the shared home, assets purchased during the relationship, the management of children, or mutual protection in case of illness and death.
On this page, I help you distinguish between the protections that the law recognizes directly and those that require an explicit choice, such as a cohabitation agreement, a joint purchase, or a will. We will examine why living together matters, but is not enough on its own to make assets, ownership, and inheritance rights shared.
When De Facto Cohabitation Exists
The law requires a stable relationship between two adult individuals bound by emotional couple ties and mutual moral and material assistance. The parties must not be married, united in a civil partnership, or related by kinship, affinity, or adoption in the cases indicated by law. This is the definition contained in Article 1, paragraphs 36 and following, of Law No. 76 of 2016 on de facto cohabitations.
The registry declaration is relevant because the law refers to it to ascertain stable cohabitation. It is not merely a formal detail: it can become important when it is necessary to prove that the couple had a shared residence and an effectively shared life. However, it does not replace a financial agreement, a notarial deed, or a will.
Cohabitating is not equivalent to marrying. Cohabitants receive specific protections provided by law, but they do not automatically enter into a general regime of community of property, mutual maintenance, or inheritance. For this reason, it is useful to separate three levels: the personal relationship, the concrete ownership of assets, and the agreements that the couple chooses to formalize.
The Shared Home: Ownership, Tenancy, and the End of the Relationship
Cohabitation does not transfer ownership of the home. If the property is registered in the name of a single person, it remains theirs even when the other cohabitant contributes to household expenses, mortgage installments, or renovation work. An economic contribution may be relevant in a subsequent comparison between the parties, but it does not in itself confer a share of the dwelling.
The purchase deed indicates who the owner is. If both purchase and appear as titleholders, each has the share provided for in the deed; if the purchase is made by a single person, participation in joint life does not modify that registration. This is precisely where the consequences change between a family expense, a documented loan, and an investment connected to the purchase of the property.
The family home is assessed primarily in the interest of the children when a couple with children separates. The assignment of the right to use the home does not transfer ownership to the parent who remains there, but it may be ordered to ensure continuity in the children's lives. Articles 337-bis, 337-ter, and 337-sexies of the Civil Code in the consolidated text consulted also apply to proceedings concerning children born outside of marriage.
A different protection applies to rented housing. If the cohabitant who is the tenant of the shared residence lease dies, or if they withdraw from the contract, the other cohabitant has the right to succeed them. The decisive prerequisite is the use of the property as the actual shared home: it is not enough for it to be a second home or accommodation used only occasionally.
Protection of the Home After the Owner's Death
The surviving cohabitant may have a temporary right of residence in the shared home that belonged to the partner. The ordinary duration is two years or equal to the duration of the cohabitation, if longer, without exceeding five years. If minor children or disabled children of the survivor live in the home, the duration cannot be less than three years.
This protection does not turn the cohabitant into an heir. It allows them to continue living in the home for the foreseen period, but it does not transfer ownership or automatically attribute a share of the inheritance. The right lapses, among other things, if the surviving cohabitant permanently leaves the home or enters into a new cohabitation, marriage, or civil partnership. The rules are contained in paragraphs 42 and 43 of Law No. 76 of 2016.
Home and inheritance remain separate issues. Temporary housing protection can exist even in the absence of an inheritance entitlement; similarly, a will may attribute assets to the cohabitant, but it must respect any rights reserved by law to forced heirs, such as children, a spouse, or, in some cases, ascendants.
Children of the Couple: Responsibility, Schedules, and Maintenance
Children have the same rights even if their parents are not married. After cohabitation ceases, both must continue to provide for care, education, upbringing, and maintenance. The couple's relationship may end, but each parent's responsibility toward the child does not cease.
Joint custody does not mean a mathematical division of time. It means that, as a rule, both parents remain involved in important decisions and that the organization must respect the concrete best interests of the minor. Age, school, health, distance between homes, daily commitments, and the ability to cooperate affect the arrangements for staying with each parent.
Maintenance looks at the child's needs, the economic resources of both parents, the periods of residence with each, and the value of care activities. It is not decided by merely comparing two incomes. Non-recurring expenses, such as medical, educational, or training costs, also deserve clear criteria to prevent them from turning into ongoing conflict.
An agreement can give continuity to the child's life when it clearly indicates schedules, communication between parents, vacations, contributions, and the management of main expenses. However, it must not turn into a rigid rule unable to adapt to significant changes in the minor's life. Conditions relating to children can be reviewed if the circumstances that justified them change.
Assets and Cohabitation Agreement
Assets remain separate barring specific choices. Shared life does not automatically create a community of property: each retains the assets they own and those they acquire in their own name. For a property, an account, an investment, or a valuable asset, the title of purchase, registration, and the content of any validly concluded agreements matter.
The cohabitation agreement regulates the financial aspects of life together. It can establish how cohabitants contribute to shared needs, taking into account resources and professional or domestic work capacity; it can also provide for the community of property regime. It is not a simple free private writing: it must comply with forms and contents established by law.
Form is essential for validity. The agreement, amendments, and termination must be drawn up in writing by public deed or private writing with signatures authenticated by a notary or lawyer. For enforceability against third parties, the law provides for transmission to the municipality of residence within ten days by the professional who received or authenticated the deed. The requirements are set out in paragraphs 50-54 of Law No. 76 of 2016 in the current consolidated text consulted.
The agreement does not replace a will and does not alone transfer ownership of a home. It serves to regulate financial life during cohabitation, not to automatically create inheritance rights. If the purpose is to leave assets to the partner after death or to attribute a real estate share, appropriate tools for that result and the forms provided for each act are required.
When Cohabitation Ends: Maintenance Allowances and Financial Agreements
There is no automatic allowance between former cohabitants comparable to spousal maintenance. Upon the cessation of cohabitation, the law contemplates alimony only for those in a state of need and unable to provide for their own maintenance. Alimony serves the essential needs of the individual, not the preservation of the previous standard of living.
The duration of cohabitation is a criterion, not the sole requirement. The judge may grant alimony for a period proportionate to the duration of the relationship and determine its amount according to the general rules of Article 438 of the Civil Code. A state of need and the inability to maintain oneself remain necessary: an income disparity alone is not enough.
Children and financial relations between ex-partners must not be confused. The contribution for children's maintenance depends on their needs and burdens both parents; alimony between former cohabitants instead responds to different prerequisites. Keeping these two levels separate helps avoid ambiguous agreements and understand which financial item truly protects the child and which concerns the adult.
The cohabitation agreement can be dissolved by agreement, unilateral withdrawal, marriage or civil partnership of one of the cohabitants, or death. If the withdrawing party has exclusive availability of the family home, the law requires a period of not less than ninety days to allow the other cohabitant to leave the dwelling. This limit does not grant a permanent right to the home, but avoids immediate eviction.
Succession, Illness, and Mutual Protection Choices
The cohabitant is not a statutory heir like a spouse. If there is no will, succession follows the categories provided by the Civil Code: the de facto cohabitant does not enter into it automatically simply by virtue of the relationship. The structure of statutory succession and the protection of reserved shares are governed in Book Two of the Civil Code.
The will can protect the cohabitant, but it must respect the indisposable share when forced heirs exist. For this reason, it is not sufficient to state that one wants to leave everything to the partner: one must consider who the family members protected by law are, what assets make up the estate, and what part can be freely allocated.
The law also recognizes rights in case of illness. Cohabitants have the reciprocal right to visit, assistance, and access to personal information in healthcare facilities, according to the applicable organizational rules. Each can also designate in writing the other as representative for decisions in case of incapacity: the designation must correspond to the powers intended to be effectively conferred.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I be a de facto cohabitant without a cohabitation agreement?
Yes, the agreement is not necessary to be de facto cohabitants. The agreement serves to organize certain financial relationships, while cohabitation depends on the prerequisites provided by law and the stability of shared life. Without a written agreement, however, property, financial contributions, and purchases remain regulated primarily by individual titles and available evidence.
Can I stay in the home registered in my cohabitant's name after separation?
You do not have an automatic right to stay just because you cohabited. In the absence of children, property ownership, the lease agreement, and any agreements matter. If you have children, the use of the family home can be regulated according to their best interests, but assignment does not transfer ownership of the home.
Does the cohabitation agreement make us inherit automatically?
No, it does not replace a will. The agreement can regulate expenses, contributions, and community of property during cohabitation, but it does not alone confer the status of heir. To destine assets to the partner after death, a valid testamentary disposition is required, and the share reserved for any forced heirs must be respected.
If we separate, can I ask my ex-cohabitant for an allowance?
You can ask for alimony only under precise conditions: a state of need and inability to provide for your own maintenance. An automatic allowance analogous to spousal maintenance is not provided. The duration of cohabitation affects the period of alimony, but does not eliminate the need to prove the prerequisites required by law.
How is the maintenance of a child of unmarried parents determined?
The child's concrete best interests matter. Their needs, the resources of both parents, periods of residence with each, and the contribution of daily care are considered. The absence of marriage does not reduce the child's rights nor exempt either parent from participating in maintenance in proportion to their means.