Financial Planning for UNMARRIED COUPLES.

• Position: Brief Article

Unmarried couples include everyone from young people planning to marry to same-sex pairs committed to lifelong relationships to older people living together to share expenses, but with no intention of marrying. Regardless of why unmarried couples choose to live together, they share one thing in common--potentially complicated financial issues, many of which are not faced by married couples. The Institute of Certified Financial Planners, Denver, Colo., offers some tips for addressing those financial issues:

Plan ahead. The needs of room-mates with few financial resources sharing an apartment for a few months is quite different from a wealthier unmarried couple planning a life together. The deeper and more long-lasting the commitment, the greater the need for professional financial planning and perhaps the help of an attorney.

Consider a written living-together contract. Not unlike a prenuptial agreement, this document spells out the sharing of expenses and who owns what property and how it will be divided in the event of a breakup. Married couples have legal guarantees regarding property, but unmarried ones don't, For example, a partner who has contributed mortgage payments or renovation funds on a home owned by the other partner may find that he or she has no legal claim to the property if the couple splits up. However, such contracts are not enforceable in all states.

Work out the bills. It often is recommended that basic household expenses such as rent and food be paid out of a joint account, with each person contributing according to his or her income. Each partner should have separate accounts to cover individual needs, such as clothing or personal financial obligations to others.

Get powers of attorney. An incapacitating illness or accident may require that financial and health care decisions be made by the partner. Without a properly drafted durable power of attorney and a health care proxy, the partner may end up legally pushed aside by the incapacitated individual's next of kin.

Write a will. While a spouse normally is automatically entitled to the couple's assets even without a will, an unmarried partner can easily be cut out unless specifically included in the other's will. No homemade wills should be considered here, either, recommend experts, since they are more easily challenged by hostile relatives.

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