California Domestic Partnership Agreements

Contact a San Francisco family law attorney at Bradshaw & Associates if you are in a relationship that could be strengthened and protected through the formalization of your intentions into an enforceable domestic partnership agreement.

There are many legitimate and practical reasons why persons who cannot or would rather not marry can benefit from a documented agreement defining their rights and intentions.

A joint tenancy agreement can protect the interests of domestic partners

For example, persons such as siblings or long-term housemates buying real property together can formalize their domestic arrangements involving succession rights to a homestead, live-in business, or arrangements for medical care and financial decisions in an emergency. A joint tenancy agreement backed up by the right deed language can ensure that your property will be held according to your mutual intentions in the event one of you can no longer assert those interests for yourself.

A joint tenancy agreement can also anticipate and stipulate the terms of a partition between the joint tenants to avoid confusion and conflict when it's time for you to move beyond your present arrangement. Domestic partnership status, meanwhile, remains an option for gay or lesbian couples who choose not to marry.

While many domestic arrangements involving jointly held real estate anticipate from the beginning that they probably won't last forever, even persons contemplating marriage can have solid reasons for using a premarital or prenuptial agreement to stipulate their intentions concerning real and personal property, retirement or investment accounts, or spousal support.

Our lawyers use their experience and understanding of California family and domestic partnership law to help you express your intentions in clear terms that will stand up in court. For additional security, we can also identify considerations or solutions that you might not have thought of. For additional information, contact a Bay Area domestic partnership attorney at Bradshaw & Associates.