Living together is joyful, but looking ahead to many years from now, you would want to visit all the reasons why a cohabitation agreement paired with an estate plan becomes important, if you are a resident of Los Angeles County, California.
Here is a list of why you need a co-habitation agreement?
- If your life partner is incapacitated, you will need a document that does a few things: a. specifies who will take care of your partner’s medical needs; b. how his/her care will be paid; and c. where he or she will live, if incapacitated.
- Where an incapacitated partner lives, while incapacitated has a direct impact on what finances will be left to take care of you.
- You will want to find out caregiving costs, and facility costs so you can determine what to put in your documents.
- If you and your partner will engage in creating reciprocal wills, what happens if one of you wants to change his or her will or trust?
- Who will be the executor and trustee of your partner’s trust impacts your inheritance from your partner?
- If your partner is not able to live at home, how will the mortgage or rent be paid? Will you still be responsible for the entire rent?
- Who will be the agent under the power of attorney or the conservator of your partner impacts every decision you make after your partner is incapacitated. That means that the potential inheritance by other people, may play a role in your partner’s well-being, as well as yours.
- What happens if both partners become incapacitated? This is a very important question that must be answered in a cohabitation agreement, along with power of attorney documents.
- Agreements can define many rights, including the rights to inherit from each other. Los Angeles County courts are very busy. You won’t want to leave these decisions to the courts.
To talk to an estate planing attorney about your rights in co-habitation, call Mina Sirkin, estate planning counsel in Los Angeles County, San Fernando Valley, California. Call 818.340.4479 or email Info@SirkinLaw.com