Joint Tenancy. If you take title as joint tenants, you share equal ownership of the property and each of you has the right to use the entire property. If one joint tenant dies, the other automatically becomes the owner of the deceased person's share, even if there's a will to the contrary.
Protection to Put in Place #1 A Cohabitation Agreement. #2 A Pre-Nuptial Agreement. #3 Make Wills. #4 Take Out Life Insurance. #5 Check Your Pensions. #6 Consider How You Own Your Property.
Cohabiting couples in California can create a 'cohabitation agreement' to outline the terms of their relationship, including property division, financial arrangements, and responsibilities. This legally binding document serves to protect each person's interests and can simplify matters should the relationship end.
Perhaps the most common way for unmarried couples to take title to real property is as "tenants in common." Unlike a joint tenancy, a tenant in common has no automatic right to inherit the property when the other partner dies.
Unmarried couples typically hold title in one of two ways: joint or tenancy in common.
As long as you and your ex can agree on how to divide up your assets, there is no need to involve lawyers or the court system. Even if children are involved, in most states you have the opportunity to separate in private, ing to whatever arrangements the two of you agree on.
Technically, the traditional way for a married couple with the same last name is ``Mr. and Mrs. John Doe,'' which also turns my inner feminist tomato red, but a lot of the other options (married, different last names, for example) use the ``Mr. John Doe and Mrs. Jane Day'' format. :)