Why Written Agreements Matter
The world has changed, and people are living together for so many reasons... Romantic, Financial, Healthcare Needs, and Companionship, to name a few. Often, marriage is not part of the equation.
We, at The Paton Law Firm, are all for the people sharing their lives and expenses. However, we urge all of our clients to have written agreements memorializing this. This should be a clear written agreement of what is expected, what obligations each party will have or share and lastly, what happens if the relationship or arrangement breaks up. A clear written agreement will avoid confusion so that there are no surprises.
Common Law Marriage, Palimony, and New Jersey Law
Looking at romantic relationships, many of our clients feel protected by the concepts of "common law marriage," "palimony" or the "faith" they have in their Life Partner.
In New Jersey and New York, we do not have "common law marriage". Thus, there is no protection.
As for "palimony", New Jersey will recognize it, but only under very particular circumstances. You may remember the case of the actor, Lee Marvin, who cohabitated with his Life Partner and broke up. The court stated that an express or implied agreement between the cohabitants could be enforceable, and in that case, Lee Marvin was responsible for his Life Partner.
We have had similar cases in New Jersey with some very compelling facts, which is why palimony was initially enforced even though there was no written agreement. In those cases, there were implied or verbal contracts.
However, in 2010, the New Jersey legislature recognized that relying on implied or verbal contracts would wreak havoc on our courts. Therefore, it amended the Statute of Frauds (law) to specify that verbal contracts are not enforceable; only written and signed contracts are. In addition, the parties had to have legal independent counsel.
What Happens When a Life Partner Gets Sick or Dies?
Now let's talk about what happens if one Life Partner gets sick or dies? If the sick Life Partner does not have a proper Will or Trust and other Estate Planning Documents, or even a written Agreement setting forth and protecting each other's financial rights, then that healthy/surviving partner is deemed to be a "stranger" and not entitled to financial protection.
Therefore, all of the assets go to their next of kin; and under certain facts the next of kin can force the surviving Life Partner out of the house with no assets. So, you see, your Life Partner is not there to protect you.
Further, the healthy Life Partner has no rights to visit their Life Partner in the hospital or talk to doctors. The healthy Life Partner will be left fighting with the next of kin because all these rights go to the next of kin.
Don't let this happen to you or your Life Partner. Don't wait; be prepared.
Non-Romantic Living Arrangements
How about those who are living together for other reasons, do they need a contract? Yes, the above pitfalls also apply to non-romantic parties living together for various reasons.
Questions arise such as whose house or apartment is it? Are you sharing expenses and how so? Or is the other person paying rent? Is it a lease arrangement or a co-ownership arrangement? Do you have rights to stay at home, or have you agreed that you will leave at certain times or at certain events? How do you dispose of or split things that you purchased together? Do you have responsibilities to take care of the other party, and will you be paid for that? Or if you are living together to take care of a parent due to health care needs, has the parent promised to leave the caretaker child extra assets in their Will and then, did they? Again, it is equally important to have a written agreement.
Resolve It Before It's Too Late
All these questions should be resolved and memorialized before you cohabit and before any event occurs in order to avoid any family discord or litigation.
Couples and parties have defended themselves and sued each other on other legal theories, involving "equity," "constructive," "unjust enrichment" or "detrimental reliance". These are all legal concepts, asking the court to be "fair".
These cases are long, difficult, exhausting, expensive and without a guarantee because they are very fact intensive. Remember too, that the court's idea of "fair" may not align with yours. Therefore, in order to prevent a stressful, long and tedious situation such as this, we urge our clients to have a written agreement addressing these matters.
We, at The Paton Law Firm, regularly prepare "Cohabitation Agreements" and Estate Planning Documents to avoid unexpected events, litigation and family strife.
.jpg)