The living together: a legal guide for unmarried couples

582 Pages·2004·11.02 MB·English

by  Toni Lynne Ihara, Frederick Hertz, Ralph E. Warner

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Page aa
Page i
The Living Together Kit
A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples
Ninth Edition
by Attorneys Toni Ihara, Ralph Warner & Frederick Hertz
N O L O P R E S S B E R K E L E Y
Page ii
Your Responsibility When Using a Self-Help Law Book
We've done our best to give you useful and accurate information in
this book. But laws and procedures change frequently and are subject
to differing interpretations. If you want legal advice backed by a
guarantee, see a lawyer. If you use this book, it's your responsibility to
make sure that the facts and general advice contained in it are
applicable to your situation.
Keeping Up to Date
To keep its books up to date, Nolo Press issues new printings and new
editions periodically. New printings reflect minor legal changes and
technical corrections. New editions contain major legal changes,
major text additions or major reorganizations. To find out if a later
printing or edition of any Nolo book is available, call Nolo Press at
510-549-1976 or check our website at www.nolo.com.
To stay current, follow the "Update" service at our website:
www.nolo.com. In another effort to help you use Nolo's latest
materials, we offer a 25% discount off the purchase of the new edition
of your Nolo book if you turn in the cover of an earlier edition. (See
the "Recycle Offer" in the back of this book.) This book was last
revised in April 1999.
Ninth EditionAPRIL 1999
EditorialSTEPHANIE HAROLDE
Assistance
Cover DesignTONI IHARA
Book DesignTERRI HEARSH & STEPHANIE
HAROLDE
IndexPATRICIA DEMINNA
ProofreadingJOE SADUSKY
PrintingBERTELSMANN INDUSTRY
SERVICES, INC.
Ihara, Toni Lynne.
The living together kit : a legal guide for unmarried couples / by
Toni Ihara, Ralph Warner and Frederick Hertz. -- 9th ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-87337-490-8
1. Unmarried couples--Legal status, laws, etc.--United States.
2. Unmarried couples--Legal status, laws, etc.--United States-
-Forms. I. Warner, Ralph E. II. Title.
KF538.I35 1998
346.7301'6--DC21
[347.30616]
98-25264
CIP
Copyright © 1978, 1979, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1997, 1999 by Toni
Ihara and Ralph Warner.
All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior
written permission of the publisher and the authors.
For information on bulk purchases or corporate premium sales, please
contact the Special Sales Department. For academic sales or textbook
adoptions, ask for Academic Sales. Call 800-955-4775 or write to
Nolo Press, Inc., 950 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94710.
Page iii
Acknowledgments
To reflect new legal developments, the 9th edition of The Living
Together Kit required literally hundreds of changes. To make them we
relied greatly on the research help of Stan Jacobsen and Beth
Lawrence. Thanks, too, to Stephanie Harolde for her hard work and
creative contributions during the manuscript preparation stage.
Page v
Table of Contents
Introduction
1
Living Together: Old Wine in a New Glass
2
Sex, Living Together and the Law
A. If It Feels Good, It May Be Illegal 2/2
B. Common Law Marriage 2/4
3
Practical Aspects of Living Together
A. Property and DebtsSome General Rules 3/3
B. Charge Accounts and Credit Accounts 3/4
C. Buying a Motor Vehicle 3/6
D. Names 3/7
E. Traveling Together 3/8
F. Adoption 3/8
G. Discrimination in Employment 3/9
H. Paying Income Taxes 3/10
I. Social Security Eligibility 3/12
J. Public Benefits 3/13
K. Liability for Medical Care of a Mate 3/13
L. Insurance 3/13
M. Serious IllnessThe Living Will and Durable Power 3/15
of Attorney for Healthcare
N. Wrongful Death Lawsuits 3/16