Protecting yourself when purchasing a home with your partner should be one of your priorities. Following are the top five ways that you should consider to protect yourself when purchasing a home with your partner.
1. Create a partnership agreement that outlines each of your responsibilities. For example, who pays the mortgage,who pays for maintenance and repairs, will one partner pay more money while the other partner provides more labor, and what happens if the relationship ends. Creating an agreement can help resolve disputes without the need for mediation or getting the court involved if your partnership ends.
2. Title your home in a way that protects your interests. For example, joint ownership with right of survivorship means that if your partner dies, you become the sole owner of the home. Joint tenancy without right of survivorship allows you both to own an equal portion of the real estate with no right to the partner’s half should he die. Tenants in common allow you to own the home either equally or unequally. If your partner dies, you will own the percentage that is recorded and your partner’s portion will pass according to his will or the intestacy laws in your state. These options vary depending on the state that you live in.
3. Keep track of finances once you have purchased the home. If one of you cannot make their portion of the mortgage payment, that fact should be recorded. If one of you pays for an addition or repairs that are not ordinary maintenance included in the partnership agreement, that amount should be recorded. If you dissolve the relationship, having a record of who contributed what will help you come to an agreeable resolution.
4. If your agreement is that, when a partner dies, his portion of the real estate will pass to the surviving partner, a will should be drafted and filed with the appropriate official in the county where you live. This will ensure that the deceased partner’s portion of the real estate will not pass according to the intestacy laws in your state.
5. Hire a real estate agent who specializes in working with LGBT clients. He will make sure that nothing is overlooked during the purchase process that could affect the ownership of the property.
The options available to you to protect yourself when purchasing a home with your partner depend on the state that you live in. Because the above issues can be complex, consulting an experienced gay realtor at GayRealEstate.com or an LGBT attorney will help ensure that your partnership agreement legally reflects your wishes.