There are a variety of reasons why people who are in long-term committed relationships sometimes choose to never get legally married. One of these is the fact that you may be entitled to certain financial benefits if you remain unmarried. Of course how you want to manage your relationships from a legal perspective is a personal decision.
If you want to make sure that your partner is provided for and looked upon as the individual who would make decisions in your behalf in the event of your incapacity you would be wise to execute the appropriate legal documents.
When it comes to the transfer of assets, a Last Will is clearly a possibility, but there are other options as well including the creation of a revocable living trust. These trusts facilitate a relatively quick and efficient distribution of financial resources outside of the probate process, which can be time-consuming and expensive in many cases. And, they are more difficult to challenge.
Executing durable powers of attorney naming your partner as attorney-in-fact would be a good way to make sure that he or she is empowered to make decisions on your behalf should it become necessary at some point in time.
Regardless of your legal relationship status, the wise course of action is to make sure that you have an estate plan in place at all times that reflects your current wishes. If you are presently unprepared, right now would be a good time to take action to set up an informative consultation with a licensed and experienced Oklahoma City estate planning lawyer.
Larry Parman
Author, President and Founding Attorney
Parman & Easterday
Since founding Parman & Easterday in 1985, Larry has led over 1,000 free, community-service education programs and helped more than 10,000 Oklahoma families go from putting off their estate plan to getting it done. His goal for every client is the same: to become the person their family calls "the one who took care of everything."
Larry is the author of three books: The Straight Shooter's Guide to Estate Planning; Estate Planning Basics; and Guiding Those Left Behind in Oklahoma. He served as Oklahoma's Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce, and his firm is the only member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys in the state.
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