Legal Planning for Unmarried Committed Partners: Empirical Lessons for a Preventive and Therapeutic Approach

Abstract

Increasing rates of cohabitation among unmarried couples have brought a number of contentious issues to the forefront of American political and corporate decision making. An approach to the issues facing unmarried committed partners founded in therapeutic jurisprudence and preventive law suggests that attorneys can help individuals in nonmarital committed relationships to privately order their affairs in a manner that is both legally effective and therapeutic. The present analysis examines the application of therapeutic jurisprudence and preventive law principles to the issues involved in the long-term property and health care planning of unmarried couples.

JEL Classification: K00