Dear Friend:
I wrote this guide for co-habiting couples in Massachusetts because I have been in your shoes.
Not only am I an attorney, but also before getting married, I lived together with my wife Nancy for over eight years.
We comingled all of our assets together as if we were a married couple. We blended our families, including our minor kids.
But, as a lawyer, and as concerned parents, we often wondered what would REALLY happen to our assets, property and children if something happened in our relationship…
…whether that was death, disability, incapacity, or even just breaking up.
This nagging worry is what began our journey into uncovering the rights of co-habiting couples in Massachusetts.
I won’t lie; what we learned initially shocked and saddened us.
We discovered that in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, there is NO such thing as Common Law Marriage or Partnership rights that are available in other states.
That means that whether you’ve lived together for seven years of seventy years, unmarried partners in our state have ZERO rights over each other’s affairs if something happens….
…UNLESS you utilize the little-known protections offered through estate and asset protection planning!
Estate Planning for the modern, non-traditional family is what I’ve dedicated this book to. This is information that EVERY unmarried couple must fully understand and act upon right away to ensure the total protection of everything they own and everyone they love.
The great news is that when done right, these strategies can safeguard your assets and collective rights almost as well, if not better in some cases than a traditional marriage covenant!
In the pages of this easy-to-read e-book you will also discover:
- What to do in the absence of Common Law Marriage or Partnership rights in Massachusetts to protect your family and your assets if something happens;
- How to ensure a boyfriend or girlfriend is never “put out” of a home they share with their partner if they are not legally on the title.
- The best and safest ways to blend “his, hers and our” property when not legally married.
- Why a Last Will and Testament is NOT enough to safeguard your “joint assets” and ensure the protection of your loved ones, including kids from a previous relationship.
- The legal documents you need so your partner can make decisions and speak for you in a healthcare crisis (otherwise, doctors and even disgruntled family members could keep you in the dark!).
- Why your partner will likely NOT receive guardianship of your kids if you pass away, and what to do if you feel the surviving biological parent is unfit to have custody.
- How to legally make your burial or funeral arraignments known and ensure your partner has the authority to carry out your wishes if something happens.
- Why unmarried partners are not entitled to Survivor’s Benefits in Massachusetts, and alternative steps to take to ensure continual income streams and financial protection in the event of disability or death.
- A highly-effective, yet little-known legal document that can prevent an unmarried partner from “changing the locks and draining the bank accounts” if you break up.
- How to completely remove the pressure that couples face to prematurely tie the knot out of fear they are somehow being “slighted” or missing out on protections from a legal or financial perspective.