When you decide to live with someone else, you might not be married, but you are subject to many of the good things and bad conflicts facing married couples. Some of the issues that can cause disputes, are sharing expenses, assets and the question of what happens in one of you should die or if you break up. Money disputes can destroy a marriage, and the same holds true for cohabiting couples. Assembling a Cohabitation Agreement helps talk about these issues. When negotiating, your concerns are heard, and you are free to arrive at an agreement reflecting your values, morals, and beliefs. Your reasoned Cohabitation Agreement can reflect your true wishes, rather than the cookie-cutter system the state imposes on those who don’t bother.
If your partner owns the house, are you tossed out at their death? Who will contribute to joint expenses, and in what amounts? If you become sick, do you want your partner to make medical decisions for you and be allowed to see you at the hospital? Without documenting your agreements and feelings about these issues, you are stuck with state laws, which give a partner little or no rights.
Investing in a reasoned, agreement as to how assets will be divided if you split up or and what rights exist should one person die helps avoid devastating conflict and expensive litigation. A little money spent now can save huge expenses later on. Further, investing in a Cohabitation Agreement allows a couple to talk about finances and make sure both people enter the relationship with a complete understanding of the other person’s financial expectations. A small amount of negotiation between a couple early can avoid heated disputes later.
We are flexible. We have a Cohabitation Agreement Lawyer who can help you with one or two issues, or we can take on the entire process. Implementing a Cohabitation Agreement’s terms might require signing Wills, creating Trusts or altering beneficiary designations. Unlike other firms, we have a whole department of Estate Planning and Asset Protection Attorneys. Very few practices can provide you that depth of experience.
We have an experienced Cohabitation Agreement Lawyer ready to help you with any task, but people most often have us help with the following:
If you have any questions about Cohabitation Agreements or any other estate planning topics, feel free to contact us to schedule a free consultation. For more than two decades Klenk Law has focused only on Estate Law. We’ve seen it all, and this experience allows us to explain complex estate planning techniques clearly and concisely. We make it easy for you to understand Cohabitation Agreements and Asset Protection so you can make the best decisions for yourself and your family.
Peter Klenk is the founding member of Klenk Law, a seven attorney boutique estate planning law firm. We serve clients in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Minnesota and Florida. Peter Klenk received his Masters in Taxation LL.M. from NYU Law School and his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School. He served his country in the Navy JAGC during Desert Storm. Easy to talk to, feel free to call Peter for an appointment. We will make the process as easy as possible!
"I worked for Peter Klenk for 4 wonderful years. I can’t speak highly enough of everyone at the firm. Everyone truly cares about their clients and has a strong sense of responsibility to get things done right. I would highly recommend Klenk Law!"
Flora Novick
Peter Klenk is an extraordinary attorney with positive guidance and knowledge for all of your Trust and Estate needs. We have used him for over 20 years.
Klenk Law is an exceptional practice. Their fine lawyers and staff team up to produce excellent results for their clients. They excel at explaining the often cryptic laws and policies that govern estate planning right down to the complexities of the various "trust" frameworks. Peter himself manages each client together with his great team, and he has a rare quality to be both a walking encyclopedia of planning minutia and also one of the most likable lawyers I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. He is truly generous in intellect and in his personal approach to getting the "big picture" for complex family structures. I trust him implicitly to help me make the right choices for the future. In short, Klenk Law is a gem of a firm.
Peter is excellent. I had a very complicated situation with my parents' estate planning and potential Medicaid needs. Peter was very knowledgeable in estate planning matters, able to define the best solution for the situation. Additionally, he was congenial and able to communicate effectively to my senior citizen parents the benefits of estate planning. He earned my trust, and more importantly, my parents' trust in a 45 mins consultation period. Highly recommend Peter. He is very easy to work with.
I've worked with and known Peter Klenk and his associates for years. They are highly professional, diligent and truly experts in their field. By focusing on just wills, trusts, and estates, Klenk law has experienced every angle of estate planning and applied that knowledge to help prepare our clients with thorough and comprehensive documents.
Great firm. Great people. Happy to refer folks in need to estate planning to Peter and his team. They do great work.
Let us put our expertise to work for you.
Free consultation within 24 hours.