Legal Guide for Lesbian and Gay Couples, a "With CD" [Paperback]

Hayden Curry (Author), Frederick Hertz (Author), Denis Clifford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2005

Protect your rights -- protect your relationship.

Now more than ever, it's important that you take the proper legal steps to define and protect your relationship in the eyes of the law. If you don't, you run the risk of being shut out of each other's lives -- and the lives of children you co-parent -- in times of medical, financial or personal crisis.

This practical, plain-English guide shows lesbian and gay couples how to:

*make practical decisions about living together *obtain domestic partner benefits
*make medical decisions for each other when needed
*take care of each other's finances when one partner is incapacitated
*leave property to each other
*have and raise children through adoption, donor insemination, surrogacy or foster parenting

This 25th anniversary edition is updated to provide the latest information on gay marriage and domestic partnerships in several states and Canada. It also now includes a CD-ROM that helps domestic partners create living-together contracts, durable powers of attorney and more.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Nolo Press legal guides provide useful and accurate information on how to manage your own affairs or, failing this, how to hire a lawyer and negotiate the court system. The rapid changes in gay and lesbian life in the past 30 years have not been reflected in the legal codes of most states, and without enforceable written agreements, gay and lesbian people may find such crucial matters as inheritance, legal guardianship, child custody, and support left to the whim of a judge or state agency. As the writers of this volume (first published in 1980) point out, "married couples' relationships are defined by law," while lesbian and gay couples have the freedom--and responsibility--to create their own legal relationships. Agreements drawn up in advance provide guidance for a time when all is not moonbeams and madness. Tear-out forms and sample documents are included. --Regina Marler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Medical care issues receive substantial attention in this new edition--powers of attorney, visitation, insurance, burial, property, and finances, with detailed sample documents included. Other revised topics include estate planning; lawyers and legal research, including a list of lesbian and gay rights organizations; and surrogate mothers. Other chapters (property, finances, children, and breaking up) have basically remained the same. Convenient full-size tear-out agreement forms are appended, as well as a new list of AIDS organizations. While Eric Marcus's Male Couple's Guide to Living Together ( LJ 3/1/88) covers similar ground, this is quite thorough and contains a great deal of practical advice that could be used by heterosexual couples as well. Recommended for public and academic libraries, and legal collections.
- Louise Stwalley, Univ. of Colorado at Denver Lib.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 355 pages
• Publisher: NOLO; 13th edition (April 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413301762
• ISBN-13: 978-1413301762
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,362,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get's an A+, March 31, 2003

By 

"wzamer" (Houston, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Legal Guide for Lesbian and Gay Couples (Paperback)

If you have a college degree, good income, own a home, and prefer a do-it-yourself explanation, this is the book for you. It is written by laywers and describes partnership situations in detail with legal/financial tools to apply. In some cases, it gets down to state by state specifics (Vermont's same-sex law, Hawaii's beneficiary law, etc). It deals with houses & other property, stocks & bank accounts, wills & inheritance, children, prior marriages, and even breaking up.

If you are still 'building your credit history' or want to learn about 'life insurance policies', then buy one of the simpler books. If you are an educated anal-rententive meticulously detail-oriented gay adult, then this is the book for you. You can skip the others.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous fabulous guide for the 20th century, January 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Legal Guide for Lesbian and Gay Couples (9th) (Paperback)

This guide has been highly resourceful in the lives of my partner and I. There is not a day that goes by that we do not reference it. It is written in a very easy to understand format and contains several templates for "Durable Power of Attorney"s, etc. I highly recommend this book. Anyone interested in emailing me, just remove "no-spam" from my address.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Info that all LGBT people should know......, November 3, 2006

By 

Linda (MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Legal Guide for Lesbian and Gay Couples, a "With CD" (Paperback)

I really enjoy this book and would recommend it to anyone who is in a LGBT relationship. I especially enjoy the CD-ROM that it includes so you can type up your own forms as a way to protect yourself and your partner.