Love on the farm: A risky business? Marital settlements, cohabiting agreements and divorces in family farms

A divorce or a break-up on a family farm is a complex process with potentially disastrous consequences not only to individuals and families, but also to the economic viability on family farms. This project is explorative as there is no research-based know ledge about the extent to and the ways in which Norwegian farmers and their spouses make agreements and handle divorce or break up situations. As the majority of farmers are men, and women generally marry farmers and move to their farm, divorce issues are commonly gender biased. Both, from a gender equality perspective and in terms of the 'sustainability of a family farm' perspective, family break-ups on family farms are a highly relevant issue requiring further exploration. Much of the farm assets might have been in the principal farm owner's family for generations, but a partner might have contributed directly or indirectly for years to their accumulation. Although married couples' formal rights are regulated in law, there is no guarantee that this law sufficiently encompasses the issues that may result from divorces of farming couples. Cohabiting partners are likely to be even more affected by such uncertainties and conflicts resulting from the intertwinedness of assets and associated rights and respon sibilities. Marriage settlements or cohabiting agreements are likely to be extremely beneficial to farm couples. Based on the analysis of three sources of data (statistical data, document studies of marriage settlements and qualitative interviews) the pro ject aims to depict the current situation; identify the marital status among all farmers in Norway, identify whether and how farm couples arrange contracts regulating their economic relationships and what happens in case of a divorce or a cohabitation bre ak up. What kind of legal advice do they seek and receive? The project aims to produce knowledge in order to increase awareness in the farm industry itself and competence in counselling services within agriculture.