Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples [Paperback]

Ralph Warner Attorney (Author), Toni Ihara Attorney (Author), Frederick Hertz Attorney (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1413307558 | ISBN-13: 978-1413307559 | Publication Date: March 22, 2008 | Edition: 14th

Living together out of wedlock can mean anything, especially in court -- unlike married couples, most unmarried couples don't automatically inherit or receive protection under the law. Consequently, you must document everything from property ownership and children to wills and other estate plans.

An essential resource for any unmarried couple, Living Together explains:

the legality of living together

having and raising children

the many types of ownership agreements

relationships with a prior family

getting authorization to make medical decisions for an ill or injured partner

Living Together includes:

a complete overview of important legal documents, including a living together contract

instructions to filling out these documents

sample forms
legal agreements as tear-outs and on CD-ROM

The 14th edition provides the latest law in readable 50-state charts, and includes many fill-in-the-blank legal forms. It also discusses the laws covering same-sex marriages and civil unions, which are often so broad, they affect unmarried heterosexual couples as well.

The CD-ROM that accompanies the printed version of this book includes forms or other tools; in this eBook, you'll find all those documents in the appendix or at the back of the book. (20090101)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Includes Nolo's trademark dead-on advice as well as sample contracts that can save you some legal fees. (Ken Kurson 20090101)

Highly recommended. (Booklist 20090101)

A detailed and useful guide for unmarried couples who want more information. (Los Angeles Times 20090101)

...[an] excellent, comprehensive reference. (Modern Maturity 20090101)

This guide helps unmarried couples prepare a property agreement, and clarifies the laws governing debt, public benefits, lease, home mortgages, adopting a child, wills and separation... (Reference & Research Book News )

Provides lots of practical advice and also includes information about various state laws relating to unmarried couples. (Washington Post )

From the Publisher

This new edition replaces the title: The Living Together Kit. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: NOLO; 14th edition (March 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413307558
• ISBN-13: 978-1413307559
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > Law > Family & Health Law > Divorce & Separation
  • #7 in Books > Law > Family & Health Law > Domestic Relations
  • #61 in Books > Law > Practical Guides

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't live with someone unless you've read this book, June 17, 2003

By 

fdr - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples (11th National Edition) (Paperback)

Readers should note that this book was written for unmarried opposite-sex couples only. Same-sex couples should instead read _A Legal Guide for Lesbian and Gay Couples_ by Hayden Curry and Denis Clifford, also published by Nolo. Although many of the issues overlap regardless of sexual orientation, this book considers specifically the concerns facing unmarried male-female partners.

Within this scope, this book does a wonderful job of exploring every legal detail unmarried couples should consider when sharing a household. This is the stuff you'll hopefully never have to consider if your lives go happily ever after, but just in case they don't, both you and your partner will be glad to have in writing certain understandings that spouses automatically have granted to them by law. The authors make this wonderful suggestion: "Approach the task in the spirit of clarifying your understanding and preserving the shared memory of two fair-minded people." At its best, using this book will not only hammer out legal essentials but strengthen your relationship with your partner.

The book covers "living together" contracts, finances, sharing real estate (rented or purchased), estate planning, starting a family, confronting issues that stem from one partner having previously been married, and what to do if you separate. A lot of it is common sense, but common sense may vary by state, and the book does a good job of noting exceptions. It's written in plain language, and if you're not a lawyer, I guarantee you'll find stuff in here that you'd never think of in a million years but could be vitally important. (For instance, if your partner owns a home in her name only but the two of you have agreed in writing to keep all your personal property separate, her homeowners' insurance will not cover your property if a disaster occurs!)

If you love creating neat and tidy forms electronically, you'll love the companion CD-ROM, which has all the forms discussed in the chapters. If you're not so great with computers, don't worry -- most of the forms are available at the back of the book to be torn out and filled in by hand or by typewriter.

Planning to maybe someday get married? Using this book is still a good idea, plus it includes a section on pre-marital agreements and explains whether or not a living-together contract qualifies as one for your circumstances.

My only complaint -- I wish making all of the necessary decisions were as easy and straightforward as this book was to read!

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, just not if you live in certain states..., March 17, 2004

By 

C. Olivares (Central Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples (Paperback)

This book is great. It made me think about a lot of things, being unmarried to my live-in partner and having a young child. However, we are moving to Illinois soon, and this book does NOT apply to unmarried, heterosexual couples there. Illinois is one of a handful of states that has laws against cohabitation. If you live in Illinois or another state that still has these types of laws on the books, none of the legal documents that this book helps you prepare are going to hold up in court. I think it's great, however, that a book like this exists and is so detailed and helpful. Cohabitating couples, especially those of us who have children together and plan to buy homes or own property together, need to know the legal issues as individuals and as a couple. I highly recommend this book, though it probably isn't worth your time if your state still has the anti-cohabitation laws.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fabulous and important resource, April 24, 2002

By 

Book Reader "fiandacafiandaca" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples (10th Edition) (Paperback)

NOLO's Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples is such a wonderful resource. I would encourage all couples who are living together to purchase and read this book. It details a little bit of history of how laws have changed regarding unmarried couples who live together. This guide has been published and updated since 1979; there have been a lot of changes!

It is clear, concise, and user friendly. There are forms to set up all kinds of agreements, whether your intention is to join all your assets and property or keep them all separate, or anywhere in between. The book includes a CD so you can modify any of the agreements you want to use.

This guide makes it clear that not having written agreements like these can cause major problems if ever your partnership should end. The guide is suprisingly informative about lots of small legal details and does provide some information about how certain laws differ from state to state.

This is a wonderful resource and I recommend it to all, including heterosexual couples who don't want to be legally married but aren't sure of their rights if they don't marry.