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Cohabitation Challenges & Postmarital Plans

Cohabitation Complexities

    Chances are quite good that you know couples who are living together without the benefit of marriage. The U.S. Census Bureau confirms what you already may suspect: More people are cohabitating in lieu of marriage these days than ever before in our nation’s history. In 1930, married couples accounted for 84 percent of American households. In the year 2000, just seventy years later, married couples were barely in the majority at 52 percent. The trend does not seem to have bottomed-out, either. In 2005, married couples were the minority at 49.7 percent. And, it is not just young couples. In fact, between 1990 and 2007, the number of unmarried cohabitants increased by a staggering 88 percent.
    Even though cohabitation is legal in the majority of states, unmarried cohabitants face unique estate planning challenges regarding incapacity, inheritance, and estate taxation. In this article we will review such challenges and some of the potential problems they can cause.

Learn more about Cohabitation Challenges ...

Postmarital Planning

    Whether you just tied the knot or just celebrated your Golden Anniversary, it is never too soon (nor, perhaps, too late) to get your legal house in order as a couple. In this article we review some fundamental legal tools and techniques that are must-haves for every married couple.

Durable Powers of Attorney

    Many married couples mistakenly believe that upon exchanging vows they are granted blanket legal authority to carry out their mutual pledges to care for one another in sickness and in health. Unfortunately, the law requires further and more specific written legal authority. For example, if one spouse is legally incapacitated due to an illness or an injury, then this becomes painfully apparent.

Read on for more Postmarital Planning tools ...