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Dividing up CD collections is one thing, but splitting finances during a break-up can prove even more painful - particularly if you're not married.
While marriage comes with a series of legal protections in the event of divorce, for unmarried partners the situation is different.
But how is it different and what legal rights do co-habiting partners actually have? Sharon Powell, of law firm Hart Brown, lays out the law.
Protection: Married couples have more financial rights than couples who live together.
Many people believe that where a couple live together as husband and wife that there exists a 'common law marriage' even though they are not actually married.
However, contrary to popular belief, cohabitees do not have the same rights in law as a married couple.
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It is important that such couples are fully aware that on breakdown of their relationship that the division of 'family assets' and financial support available may be very different from what they envisaged. This includes the following:
The family home
Often the largest asset that a couple will have built up together over time is the family home. On divorce, where agreement has not been reached, the family court can be asked to exercise its wide powers to impose a fair and reasonable solution which can include changing the ownership of the property or altering how much each owns in the property.
Investigation: Not contributing to the purchase or mortgage repayments of the home might leave you with nothing after a break-up.
Property is often used as well as part of pension off-setting agreements, where one spouse gets to keep their private pension, while the other gets the property or cash.
It is not necessary for both parties to have made a monetary contribution to that property. One may have been the breadwinner and the other the homemaker.
The same cannot be said for a co-habitating couple and the law on which they must rely is not particularly tailored for their relationship, but is complex and based on trust law.
If the couple purchased as joint tenants, either of them could apply to the court for an order that the home is to be sold and that the proceeds are to be divided equally between them.
If it's bought as tenants in common then it's assumed that both will have a beneficial interest and the property to the extent that they contributed.
If it's only owned by one of the couple, an investigation has to be made as to whether the other has an interest because they have contributed to its purchase, mortgage repayments or repair and improvement.
If there has been no such contribution, what the parties said to each other or led the other to believe by their conduct may be important and what they intended has to be considered.
Over the passage of time that may have altered or become blurred. It is not uncommon for one of the couple to find that, despite living together in the same home for many years owned by the other, they have no interest in the property because they made no financial contribution to it and there was no indication from the other that it was a joint property.
On separation they may have to leave without any financial help from the other to re-house.
Maintenance
On separation, unmarried are not able to claim maintenance from each other as in the case of a married couple.
However, if there are children then whether the couple are married or not, the natural parent of those children is obliged to pay maintenance.
As a result, the co-habitee may be left with very few sources of income, especially if they have the care of children and are unable to work.
Complicated: Sorting out maintenance payments for children can be a tricky, particularly if one partner demands 'top-up' maintenance.
Children
In addition to maintenance for the children assessed though the Child Maintenance Service where agreement has not been possible, couples whether married or not can seek 'top up' maintenance through the family court to cover additional needs of the children.
The family court can also can make provision of housing to a co-habitee for the children and order one of the co-habitees to provide capital or transfer a house to the other for that purpose if assets are available.
However, when the children reach 18 it usually follows that this capital/home has to be transferred back to the person who provided it.
Pensions
Pensions form an important part of divorce discussions and can be split in one of three ways. A person can keep their whole private pension by offering cash or property to 'off-set' their spouse's right to part of it; they can reserve a portion of it for their spouse in retirement; or they can split their pension now and transfer a cash sum to a pension pot belonging to their spouse.
Co-habitees, however, are unable to make claims against each others' pensions when the relationship breaks down, or against the other's assets.
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