Cohabitation Agreements vs. Contracts to Will

If you are an unmarried couple, either heterosexual or homosexual, you may want to work with your partner to create a Cohabitation Agreement.

A cohabitation agreement is a legal agreement between two people who live together which attempts to clarify legal responsibilities for things as diverse as mortgages and child support. The goal of a cohabitation agreement is to prevent expensive litigation should the couple part company. If possible, the Cohabitation Agreement should clearly draw out the couples’ property rights, mutual financial support, division and responsibility for debt, child custody, access to children’s medical and school records and medical care and insurance issues.

While a correctly executed cohabitation agreement is legally binding on both parties for financial issues, child custody is always subject to court review and change if the court determines it is in the child’s best interest.

While most cohabitation agreements address what will happen if the couple splits up, most do not address what happens if one of the couple dies. I have found this set of circumstances is best addressed with a Contract to Will. A Contract to Will is an binding agreement between two persons in their Will addressing what they want to have
happen should one or both of the couple die. The agreement can be small, such as who is to inherit furniture purchased during the relationship, or extremely detailed.

A Contact to Will cannot be changed by one party, so when one partner dies, the surviving partner is bound to the terms. A Contract to Will should not be entered into lightly, and the advice of a Will Drafting Attorney who focuses on these matters is advised.

Our website provides more information about our firm and more information about the services provided for persons interested in Contacts to Will drafted by our Philadelphia Will Drafting Attorneys. Our firm focuses exclusively in the area of estate planning, probate, and the litigation surrounding estate planning and probate, so if you need assistance in developing your Estate Plan or creating a Contract to Will, please call one of our Estate Planning Lawyers for a free consultation. We have Estate Planning Attorneys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota and Florida. Estate Planning is all our Estate Planning Lawyers do!