Table of Contents

1. Living Together: An Introduction

2. The Legal State of Living Together

Sex and the Law
Domestic Partners
Common Law Marriage
Living Together Contracts
To Be Safe, Write It Down
What Happens to Your Written Living Together Agreement If You Get Married?
Special Issues for Seniors

3. Living Together Agreements: Why and How

Ten Tips for Writing a Living Together Agreement
Property Agreements
Agreement to Share Ownership of a Joint Purchase
Agreement Covering Joint Projects
Agreement Covering Homemaker Services
Agreement for Artists and Inventors
Agreement for People in School
Agreement to Protect Person Who Moves a Long Distance or Gives Up a Job

4. Debt, Credit, Taxes, and More: Practical Aspects of Living Together

Debt and Credit
Buying and Investing Together
Discrimination
Sharing Your Last Name
Income Taxes
Social Security
Retirement Plans
Public Benefits
Insurance
Liability for Medical Care of a Mate
Making Medical and Financial Decisions for Your Partner
Wrongful Death and Loss of Consortium Lawsuits

5. Renting and Sharing a Home

Discrimination on the Basis of Marital Status
Leases and Rental Agreements
Moving In Together
Dealing With Objections When Moving Into the Rental Home of One Partner
Getting Your Security Deposit Back

6. Buying a House Together

May Sellers Discriminate Against Unmarried Buyers?
How to Find and Work With a Real Estate Agent
Househunting Online
Home Financing and Mortgages
Proceeding With Your Purchase: Offers, Inspections, Escrow, and Closing
Taking Title to Your New Home
Contracts for Couples Owning a Home Together
Contract for Equal Ownership of a House
Contract for Unequal Ownership of a House
Agreement for One Person to Move Into the Other’s House and Become an Immediate Co-Owner
Agreement for One Person to Move Into the Other’s House and Become a Co-Owner Gradually

7. Starting a Family

Having a Child: Legal Obligations of Unmarried Parents
Naming the Baby and Getting a Birth Certificate
Naming the Father: Paternity
Legitimacy of Children Born to Unmarried Parents
Adopting a Child
Public and Private Benefits for a Child of Unmarried Parents
Inheritance Rights of a Child of Unmarried Parents

8. You and Your Ex-Spouse and Children From a Prior Relationship

Getting a Divorce While Living With Someone Else
Living Together and Impact on Custody of Children From a Prior Marriage
Visitation With Children From a Prior Marriage
Child Support for Children From a Prior Marriage
The Effect of Living Together on Alimony and Child Support From a Prior Marriage

9. Wills and Estate Planning

What Happens If You Don’t Do Any Estate Planning?
The Effect of Living Together Contracts
Figuring Out What You Own: Taking Inventory
An Introduction to Wills
Preparing a Basic Will
Avoiding Probate
Estate and Gift Taxes
Balancing the Needs of Your Partner and Your Children
Funerals and Other Final Arrangements

10. Moving On—When Unmarried Couples Separate

Rules of the Unmarried Dissolution
The Process of Separation
Ten Steps to Resolving Your Conflicts
Mediation, Arbitration, and Other Ways to Resolve Disputes
Lawyers and Lawsuits: Going to Court
Solutions for Property Division Problems
Putting It All Together: Preparing a Settlement Agreement
Children: Custody, Visitation, and Support

11. Lawyers and Legal Research

Doing Your Own Legal Research
Hiring a Lawyer

Appendix A: How to Use the CD-ROM

Installing the Form Files Onto Your Computer
Using the Word Processing Files to Create Documents
Forms on the CD-ROM

Appendix B: Tear-Out Forms

Agreement of Joint Intent Not to Have a Common Law Marriage
Agreement to Keep Property Separate
Attachment A (Separately Owned Property)
Agreement to Share Property
Attachment B (Jointly Owned Property)
Agreement for a Joint Purchase
Agreement Covering Rented Living Space
Letter Requesting Permission to Add a Roommate
Contract for Equal Ownership of a House
Promissory Note
Contract for Unequal Ownership of a House
Agreement for One Person to Move Into the Other’s House and Become an Immediate Co-Owner
Agreement for One Person to Move Into the Other’s House and Become a Co-Owner Gradually
Acknowledgment of Parenthood
Will
Codicil
Short-Term Agreement Regarding Separation and Housing
Agreement to Protect Property During a Breakup
Agreement to Mediate and Arbitrate
Home Buyout Agreement

Index

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