In keeping with the ever increasing diversity of families, family life, marriages and cohabiting couples - there is an emerging trend of couples who actively choose to live apart, sometimes on different continents. A recent BBC article has explored how this might work for couples, and some of the key considerations.

It is interesting to note the seeming popularity of “LAT” for celebrities, with Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton being a famous example. But with families generally becoming more international and diverse, will we see this becoming more widely adopted as a relationship choice?

There will be some important considerations from a legal perspective, particularly if the couple live in differing countries. This could give rise to issues around taxation, and if the relationship fails how assets should be divided. If there are children then there is the added dimension of where they may live and how their time should be divided.

These are not new issues, and a pre or post-nuptial agreement would work well for married or engaged couples or civil partners choosing the LAT lifestyle. For couples who intend to cohabit without marrying or entering into a civil partnership a co-habitation agreement could achieve some of the same outcomes.

The key will be early communication and advice to ensure any agreement is bespoke and looks holistically at the couples intentions and expectations. Perhaps in the future we will be seeing “LAT-nups” alongside pre-nups as part of the social norm.