skip to main content

Partnership Planning: Start With a Will

Overview

<< Return to Partnership Planning

You have to have a will. You may also need or want a trust. We’ll work with you to create either or both. We’ll also review existing wills and trusts to be sure they still reflect your changing financial, partnership and family circumstances. But remember: there are some things that a will just can’t do:

​Who will make the decisions about your health if you are ill or incapacitated?

By default, this right goes to a relative unless you have a Medical Power of Attorney that designates your choice for decision-makers.

What if you can’t make financial decisions?

Whether that’s managing a company you own or signing the mortgage check for the house, the only way you can assure that the right person is allowed to act on your behalf is with a Durable Power of Attorney.

What if your partnership breaks up?

Unmarried couples have no legal equivalent to divorce. We can create a binding Partnership Agreement that identifies both your own and joint possessions, directs the disposition of significant assets such as real estate, and helps keep you out of court. If you don’t have such an agreement, litigating these issues later, in the midst of a breakup, can be very difficult and expensive.

What if your marriage ends in divorce?

Many same-sex spouses come to marriage with significant and often unequal individual assets. We create pre-nuptial agreements in such cases. A pre-nup (or post-nup) can assure fairness if, for instance, one spouse is the sole owner of a home or business that would be subject to “equitable distribution” of property in case of a divorce.


News & Insights