Understanding Domestic Partnership Law

The concept of a domestic partnership, a legal agreement between two unmarried people involved in a romantic relationship is a fairly new one. Yet it is an important one that every person involved in such a relationship needs to understand.

A domestic partnership is not a marriage but it does involve many of the same rights, obligations and legal concepts. The basis of such a partnership is a legal agreement or contract between people. The contract determines what rights and obligations the partners have.

For example it state what property belongs to which partner and what accounts they have access to. The agreement might also cover one partner's business or business activities. It could specify that the other partner has no involvement in the business or establish his or her rights to business property. The agreements involved could cover child custody, a mutual home, real estate, investments, retirement investments and anything else.

How to Set up a Legally Binding Domestic Partnership Agreement
There are very specific limitations to such an agreement so it is important that it be drawn up by an experienced family lawyer in Alpharetta. Such a professional knows how to draw up such agreements and to make them legally binding. To be legally binding such an agreement must take the written statutes and case law into account. A good attorney will understand these and make sure the contract complies with them.

The agreement also needs to take the couple's situation into account. For example their sexual orientation, whether they have children, what property they own, what investments they have and what business activities they are engaged in. Without such an agreement it can be hard to establish ownership to a partner's property if he or she dies or becomes incapacitated.

Additional Paperwork Couples will need
There are other agreements that will need to be created in order to establish and protect legal rights. The legal rights involved in a relationship are not like the constitutional rights all citizens are entitled to. These rights have to be established and outlined often by specific legal paperwork.

Examples of such paperwork include:

Medical power of attorney which gives a person the right to make medical decisions for a partner.

Child custody or adoption to establish legal guardianship over children.
Wills to make sure that a partner inherits your property or excluding individuals from property or assets.
Trusts to protect property and assets from court decisions and taxes.

A good family law attorney Alpharetta should be able to set up all of these agreements and make them legally binding.