If you're involved in a non-traditional relationship of any kind--whether a second marriage, adult cohabitation, or a marriage your State of residence does not recognize--then the law holds many potential pitfalls for you and your spouse or partner.

 

 

If you or your partner have children from earlier relationships, are you comfortable with the thought that the inheritance you leave that person might eventually end up only with his or her family, and not with yours?

 

If you try to protect your side of the family by sidestepping your partner and leaving property directly to your own family, are you comfortable with your partner suddenly losing access to your half of the assets that they've been relying on up until now?

 

With good estate planning, you can have it both ways: have your cake and eat it, too, by working with skilled legal counsel to protect yourself, your partner, and both of your families, in a way that makes it fair and equitable for everyone involved.

 

Contact us today to talk about how to do it right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you aren't legally married to the person you care for, there are no standards of divorce law or legal separation that can help avoid or resolve a dispute over integrating or separating your financial assets. Arizona law does not recognize common law marriage, which means that if something goes wrong, you can't rely on any of the "background stuff" that legal marriages take for granted.

 

 

Non-traditional relationships suffer from many dangers when one partner becomes sick or dies. Vindictive family members may show a sudden interest in your money, your home, or the kind of expensive funeral they feel will offer you redemption--even if you made it clear, during your lifetime, that you didn't want anything like that. Estate laws typically favor blood relationships, and in the absence of proper planning, even distant relatives can become very troublesome to the friends you leave behind.

 

Health care law often turns a blind eye to non-traditional relationships. Without the right kind of legal paperwork in place, you could lose the ability to visit with a dying partner or have any input into their care.

 

Draegeth Law's unique Shared Life Plan© brings you the best of both worlds: giving you the financial simplicities of traditional marriage without the ugly drawbacks of traditional divorce.

 

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