1. Domestic Partnerships and the Law
Unfortunately domestic partnerships are a recent innovation in which
there is little legal precedent. This means formalizing such an
arrangement can quickly become a complex legal chore for couples
that do not use an experienced gay attorney in Atlanta.
There are many different issues and potential issues involved in a
domestic partnership including domestic property, real estate,
investments, businesses, child custody, bank accounts and much
more. How do you dispose of real estate, bank accounts and
businesses in such a way that is fair to both partners in a breakup?
If this is not written into the initial agreement it can be a real
headache down the road if the partners break up or one of them dies.
Death is another issue that needs to be addressed. If the partnership
is not created properly it is entirely that a dead partner’s relatives
could claim money or property the partners owned jointly.
Who will get life insurance money, inheritance, bank accounts and
investments? If the partnership is not written correctly the probate
court could aware all of this to a dead partners’ siblings or parents and
leave a partner who has devoted his life out in the cold.
Benefits including Health Insurance
Getting a legally binding and properly written domestic partnership
agreement from the beginning can prevent such tragedies from
occurring. Agreements that come from the internet or do it yourself
law companies may not be legally binding. In many cases people will
live together for years only to find that their relationship lacks legal
status because the proper paperwork was not filed.
Another big issue is health insurance it may not be possible to put
your partner on your employer’s health insurance without a binding
domestic partnership. The employer may not recognize a do it yourself
arrangement. It may also be impossible to get your partner access to
your retirement benefits without such an arrangement.
There are many other things that people with a binding domestic
partnership could do. You could make tax-deferred payments to your
partner’s 401K plan for example. You could also be eligible for all the
benefits available through your partner’s work.
2. Getting an experienced gay Atlanta attorney to draw up your
domestic partnership arrangement could make life much easier. It
could be vital to your partner’s financial future.
