Stratton Law Firm - Wisdom & Information » Living Together http://www.strattonlaw.com Wed, 04 Aug 2010 00:19:31 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Co-Habitation Issues http://www.strattonlaw.com/living-together/living-together/ http://www.strattonlaw.com/living-together/living-together/#comments Sat, 13 Jun 2009 19:25:09 +0000 Stratton Smith http://strattonlaw.com/blog/?p=3 More couples are choosing to live together. Some of these relationships are very personal, others purely impersonal, often for cost sharing and safety. Unfortunately, such arrangements have serious potential consquences.  Consider creating an agreement to document your understanding.  If you do not have an understanding, then it is time to reach one, then document it.  It is a small investment compared to the potential risks of not having an agreement at all.  An agreement should be clearly written, stating your understanding, and be signed by the parties.  Naturally, we recommend that this is best prepared by an attorney.

An agreement setting forth the sharing of living expenses, including rent; insurances; taxes; maintenance; food; utilities; etc., and can mean the difference between survival and bankruptcy following a breakup.  Who owns what items of furniture, linens, cookware, dishes can be quite important.  Remember there are no divorce laws to protect you if things go wrong.  Even roommates sharing an apartment at college have these issues!

If you are living with someone you truly care about, also consider that without proper estate planning, the law does NOT protect that person, nor provide for them as you may have intended.  Wishes are not planning.  You may find our article at http://www.strattonlaw.com/archives/214 useful to review.

]]> http://www.strattonlaw.com/living-together/living-together/feed/ 0