It’s a safe bet these days that most of the younger crowd is living with their significant other (SO) without being married. Mostly, many of them figure that the piece of paper doesn’t really mean much and that the fact that they are in a committed relationship doesn’t have to be proven by getting “married.”
Interestingly, many of them don’t realize that living together and breaking up may have far worse legal consequences than if they had married and gotten divorced. Of course each case is different, and each state has different laws in place regarding this. If you don’t know what your rights are, make it a point to ask a skilled attorney, or you might find yourself in a whole lot of trouble later.
Frankly, the best way to get the “legal” benefits of marriage is to “get” married. However, if the partnership happens to be a same-sex couple, some states deny them the right to marry. In addition, many other couples think they don’t need to be married to get the benefits. Because of that prevailing attitude, many attorneys do what they can to ensure cohabiting couples do get most of the legal benefits of marriage.
Generally speaking, in some states, when a married couple splits up, each person is entitled to 50% of all the assets acquired during marriage. If you happen to just be living together, there is no legal formula that is able to figure out what happens to your assets on breakup. As an example, let’s say a married couple buys a luxury boat and only puts one person’s name on the title. If this couple divorces, the courts split the boat 50/50. Unfortunately, if you are co-habiting, the boat would go to the name on the title. If that name is not yours, you’re not going to be happy. The bottom line here is that the courts don’t assume your assets are jointly owned if you’re just “living together.”
Keep in mind that if you are just living together, neither of you is actually entitled to anything that you didn’t specifically pay for nor get a title to in the first place. If this happens to be a house, then this may cause a really difficult situation. For instance, if the title of the house is in the other person’s name, you may find yourself looking for another place to live and receive none of the equity in the home. As you can see, the legal consequences of not being married may cost you far more than you would have ever thought.
If you are not married and live in a state where the law doesn’t particularly approve of cohabitation, it is best to speak to a seasoned attorney to find out just what your rights are and whether you are able to get any of the legal benefits of marriage despite not being married. While it’s true that the end results of a breakup between people who just cohabit may be terribly unfair, that is the way it is in some states. You need to seek the counsel of a good attorney to find out where you stand in your state before it’s too late.
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