Wills

People who are living together in a committed relationship may wish to draw up wills naming their partners as beneficiaries, at least for certain items. If, for example, the couple acquired property for their mutual use, such as furniture and appliances, each member of the couple may wish to leave their interest in the property to the other in the event of death. In the absence of a will that makes such a bequest, the property of one member of the couple most likely would pass to blood relatives of the deceased.

When preparing a will, you also may wish to consider leaving other types of property to your partner, such as belongings of a sentimental value or cash.

If you have doubts about the duration of the relationship, but want to leave something to your partner upon death if you are still together, the bequest might be made contingent on the partners living together at the time of death. If the parties are living together at the time of death, the will would make the bequest. If the (former) partners are not living together, the bequest would not be made, or perhaps an alternative bequest would be given.

If you and your partner hold property such as a house, condominium, or car in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, a will would not be necessary to pass that property to your partner. Property held in such tenancy will pass automatically to the surviving joint tenant.

Another issue to consider when drafting a will is who is responsible for making funeral arrangements. If two people who are living together want to designate each other as responsible for preparing funeral arrangements, they should say so in their wills. Otherwise, the responsibility and right of making funeral arrangements probably would fall to a blood relative. Payment of funeral expenses generally comes from the estate (the money and property) of the person who died, assuming the person left enough money or property to pay for the funeral.

In addition to specifying responsibility for funeral arrangements in a regular will, you also may wish to specify responsibility for funeral arrangements in a living will. A living will is a document in which you leave instructions regarding when life support should be discontinued in the event you are incapacitated and cannot express your desires. For example, in a living will you might direct that you do not want artificial life support, such as a respirator or feeding tube, in the event of irreversible coma or the final stage of a terminal illness.  The living will also could describe factors you would like considered in deciding whether or not to continue life support or initiate a new treatment. The factors might include: the level of mental function to which you would return if there is a recovery; the degree to which you will need help with feeding and toileting; the amount of pain you are experiencing; and the opportunity for a relative or friend to visit you before you die.   Since living wills are designed to be read before the time of death, they can be a useful place to express your wishes about funeral arrangements, thus increasing the likelihood that the wishes will be followed. Sometimes regular wills are not read until after the funeral.

If you do not want to sign a living will, but want to increase the likelihood that funeral instructions in a regular will are followed, tell your partner, family and close friends of the location of the will and the presence of funeral instructions in it.

Yet another way of handling funeral arrangements is to enter into a pre-arrangement contact with a funeral home. This contract provides the manner of payment (which may include an advance payment) of funeral expenses as well as a description of the type of funeral that should be held.