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==Introduction==
People who sign a family law agreement when they marry or plan to marry are entering into a ''marriage agreement'', also called a pre-nuptial agreement. People who sign an agreement when they start living together or plan on living together are entering into a ''cohabitation agreement'', also called a living-together agreement. Under the ''[[Family Law Act]]'', couples who live together for at least two years have the same rights when they separate as married couples do. As a result, there aren't any important differences between marriage agreements and cohabitation agreements.
The usual point of agreements like these is to say what will happen if the relationship breaks down, although they can also talk about how things will be handled during the relationship or if one of the parties dies during the relationship. The weird thing about marriage agreements and cohabitation agreements is that although they mostly talk about what will happen when a relationship ends, that may not be something that happens for five years or 20 years, or it may never happen at all. As a result, it can be difficult to make plans based on what the family's circumstances might be like at some unknown point in the future when the relationship ends.
Despite the intentions a couple may have when they sign a family law agreement, the terms of their agreement may still wind up being reviewed by the court, and possibly changed, if one of the parties later has a problem with the agreement. While the court will pay a great deal of respect to any written agreement, if an agreement was unfairly negotiated, is significantly unfair, or becomes significantly unfair, the court will generally be willing to look into things and perhaps set aside the agreement and make an order on different terms.
The ''[[Family Law Act]]'' encourages people to make agreements resolving their disputes rather than going to court. Section 6 of the act says this:
<blockquote><tt>(1) Subject to this Act, 2 or more persons may make an agreement</tt></blockquote>