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I have lived with a partner for eight years, but I want to end the relationship. I cannot yet afford to move out of the house we own together, but we live separately in the house. My partner does not want the relationship to end and is being difficult about dealing with dividing up the house or selling it. There is no possibility of signing a written agreement to end the relationship. In these circumstances, how can I fulfill the requirement that we live separate and apart for one year in order for the adult interdependent partnership to be over?
The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act provides that just because one partner does not intend to live separate and apart, that does not interrupt the one year period of living separately and apart. In any dispute over this matter, your partner would have to establish that you did in fact live as partners for one year even though you wanted to separate. The onus of proof would be on your partner to show that the adult interdependent relationship existed throughout this period. It would therefore be important for you to ensure that your lives are as separate as possible, even whilst living in the same house. For example, you should have separate financial arrangements, provide no benefits to each other and not have sexual relations.
June 2003
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