The Enrichment Group

In today's diverse world, the traditional, "Leave It To Beaver" family is a minority. However, many of the estate and family laws that exist protect the traditional family and do not address many of the issues that face the non-traditional family or single person. This track addresses the complex estate and legal issues which arise for single-by- choice, divorced or widowed men or women, single parents, unmarried significant others, blended families, same sex partners and a multitude of other lifestyle choices. The following are some examples of clients facing contemporary lifestyle issues:

Ted and Gloria have found each other after losing their spouses of many years. They are looking forward to many years together traveling and sharing their common interests. Ted's son and daughter-in-law are delighted that Dad will have someone to share his life. Ted would like to make sure that his new wife is protected, but not at the expense of his son's inheritance. They are planning a wedding soon and Ted is nervous about asking Gloria to sign a prenuptial agreement. How can he protect his son and his wife without risking his wonderful new relationship?

Jane & Sarah have been living together in a committed relationship for three years. They have been considering adopting a child, but there are so many considerations. Florida does not allow adoptions for same sex parents, so they might need to go to another state. Sarah wants to stay home to raise the baby. Jane's employer has an excellent medical plan, but as a non-spouse partner, Sarah is not eligible for coverage. They will need to find other good medical coverage for her. They want to make sure that those assets that they accumulate together will go rightfully to a surviving partner if one of them were to die. They want to protect each other from the possible claims of other family members. They want to make sure that each of them has the right to visit the other in a hospital and to authorize health care. Life is complex for same sex partners. A financial planner sensitive to these issues can be invaluable.

Jason & Jenny have found the house of their dreams. They made an offer and it was accepted. Now they need to find financing, decide how the house should be titled, find insurance and take on the responsibilities of home ownership. The complication is that Jason and Jenny are not married yet. They plan to be married at some point in the future, but not for a while. How do they each protect their investment in the house? What happens if one of them doesn't pay his or her fair share of the mortgage payments and expenses? Should they open a joint account for household expenses? If they should ever decide to split up, who would own the furnishings, who would keep the house? Jason and Jenny need a planner and an attorney to help them set up a domestic property partnership agreement.

Dennis is a single parent. He has sole custody of his son Daniel. Dennis wants to protect his son, but he does not have a will appointing a guardian for Daniel. He knows he should probably have one, but he's not sure who to appoint as guardian. Dennis is also anxious to start saving for Daniel's education. He's heard about 529 plans, education savings accounts, and prepaid college tuition plans, but he is not sure which of these would be the best for Daniel. He would like to have help deciding how much he should be putting away and where he should be putting it.

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