What should a cohabitation agreement include to be useful in Ontario?

A cohabitation agreement should be tailored to the couple's specific circumstances, but certain core topics appear in most well-drafted agreements in Ontario.

Property ownership is usually the most important section: which assets each partner brought into the relationship remain separate, how jointly purchased property is held and in what proportions, and what happens to the home if the relationship ends. The agreement should address how any increase in separately held property is treated (kept separate or shared in some way) and who bears responsibility for specific debts.

Spousal support is another key clause — partners can agree to waive, limit, or set a framework for support if they separate, though any such clause must be reasonable and is subject to court review in extreme circumstances. The agreement should also address how decisions about shared finances will be made during the relationship.

What a cohabitation agreement cannot do is limit or waive child support — that obligation is a right of the child and cannot be contracted away. It also cannot deal with parenting arrangements for future children in a binding way, because courts will always apply a best-interests-of-the-child analysis regardless of what a private agreement says.