Should legal cohabitants support each other financially?

Is there a contribution obligation between legal cohabitants?

Article 1477, §3 of the old Civil Code regulates the obligation to contribute between legal cohabitants. This article resumes the content of the contribution obligation of married people. From a substantive point of view, the contribution obligation of legal cohabitants is the same as that of the spouses. There is, however, one big difference: namely, the obligation to contribute to the costs of cohabitation ends when people no longer live together, even without terminating the legal cohabitation. In principle, the legislator has opted to leave only the obligation to contribute to the legally cohabiting partners. The duty of assistance arising from the marriage therefore does not apply to legal cohabitants. Legal cohabitants can opt to contractually arrange the assistance obligation.

What does the obligation to contribute between legal cohabitants mean in concrete terms?

Under Article 1477, §3 of the old Civil Code, legal cohabitants contribute to the costs of cohabitation in proportion to their possibilities.

This concerns all material burdens to which the legal society gives rise. The costs of raising, maintaining and training the children are also included. It includes all children of the family, so regardless of whether they are children in common or not. The burden of living together is therefore greater than the burden of the household. As mentioned before, the obligation to contribute will cease to exist when people no longer live together, even without ending the legal cohabitation.

Some examples of what is meant by costs of living together: maintenance costs and taxes with regard to the family home, house rent, repayment of the loan with which one bought the family home, etc.

The legally cohabiting partner will have to contribute each according to his/her ability. So a distribution key applies. Not only capital is allocated to the contributions, but also the contributions in kind (for example: performing household tasks). The legal cohabitants themselves determine by mutual agreement the way in which the obligation to contribute is implemented.