The drawback of this approach is that, just as the relationship does not enjoy any of the legal benefits that come from marriage, it does not enjoy any of the protections incident to a legal divorce. Without a domestic partnership agreement in place to spell out how joint finances should be unwound, challenging issues must be addressed under extremely draining circumstances. Similarly, without a solid estate plan and supporting legal documents such as wills in place, the marriage model can pose drastic and sometimes unexpected hardships for the survivor if one partner dies. A combined approach . More and more, gay couples want to understand the approaches available to them in handling their money, and make intelligent and informed choices about what's best for them.
Some couples take a proportional approach to handling joint finances.
Under this model, joint assets and joint expenses are managed in proportion to each partner's relative contribution. Again, arrangements like these always should be spelled out in a properly drafted domestic partnership agreement, and acknowledged in the terms of a will or trust. Going solo . Finally, some couples prefer to maintain an independent approach to their money. Under this model, of course, each couple pays for his or her own expenses, and all assets are owned separately.