Nearly everyone dislikes the idea of creating a legal agreement to govern his or her relationship. It seems to take the spontaneity and trust out of the relationship and reduces it to a business arrangement. However, in some cases it may be the right thing to do.

First, let’s look at the difference between the two agreements. Premarital agreements are created between two individuals who are planning to get married in the near future. Living together agreements, also called property agreements, are created between two individuals who do not plan to marry immediately or perhaps at all, but who may accumulate property together. This can include same-sex couples and long-term roommate situations, as well as couples who choose to live together for an extended period.

Pre-marital Agreements: Generally, a premarital agreement is a good idea when one or both parties brings property into the marriage, one makes a larger income, or one or both owns a business. It becomes a necessity if children are involved. The agreement will indicate the property owned by each individual before marriage and how property purchased after marriage will be owned, managed, or controlled. It may also cover such issues as how jointly incurred bills will be paid.

If one spouse has children or grandchildren, that person may indicate through the agreement (and a will) to leave the bulk of their estate to their heirs at the time of death rather than leaving it to the surviving spouse. The agreement will also cover the details of any settlement or alimony should the marriage end in separation or divorce.

The Uniform Pre-Marital Agreement Act is a federal law that provides legal guidelines for premarital agreements. Agreements are usually enforceable in court unless it can be proven that one party was forced to sign the agreement against his or her will or that the agreement is written in such a way as to promote divorce, such as providing an unusually large settlement.

Living Together Agreements: Living together agreements also indicate the property that each party brings into the relationship. The agreement spells out how property jointly acquired during the relationship will be owned and what will happen to the property if the couple separates. The agreement may also indicate how money will be handled (does each person handle their own; will they have a joint account; or some other arrangement). If the couple later decides to marry, the living together agreement will no longer be valid and should be replaced by a pre-marital agreement.

Non-financial issues, such as who does the cooking and who does the laundry, are not covered by either a premarital agreement or a living together agreement. An attorney should prepare both agreements, since the simplest of mistakes can make the entire agreement void.

Though you may not like the idea of signing a pre-marital or living together agreement, having one could protect you and your assets if your relationship should end, particularly if it ends on less than friendly terms.

Copyright © 2002, Glenna Tooman; all rights reserved

Glenna Tooman owns Memory Makers Event Planning, LLC, located in Boise, Idaho. She is an authority on wedding and event planning and writes extensively on those topics.

1. Realize that in the early stages of the dating period you have a lot of leeway in relation to your activities. Movies, miniature golf, and bowling are all fun activities, but you can also spend a lot of time in places where you can walk and talk. You are getting to know each other, use that to your advantage!

2. While you do have the advantage in that everything you do is new to the two of you, dating regularly is about having fun. Don’t go to movies like “Schindler’s List” or “Titanic” that are downers, go to comedies, romantic, or horror movies that all lend to having a good time.

3. Try to consult different experts throughout the internet to find new and exciting things to do that will impress your date as you date regularly. You can think of things you never considered before like a trip to the zoo or playing a board game in a park that creates memories and moments.

4. As you continue to date regularly, remember that you are nothing if not unique and that will go as the relationship gets older. In other words, don’t release too much information too early or risk having nothing left to do or overwhelming your date to the point where they are turned off.

5. If the situation presents itself where you must explain a phobia or attraction, tell the story and get on with the date. Don’t spend too much time on it, but don’t hide things from your date either.

6. Most people are busy in their personal lives and there is nothing wrong with that, but with dating regularly comes dating honestly and sharing with your date. Let them know what it is that keeps you so busy and why it is so important to you. Passion is very important to most people and sharing that is even better.

7. It is fun and exciting when you find someone that you want to date regularly, but don’t demand that your date let you know where they are going to be at all times. Asking too much about a person’s personal affairs is sometimes offensive and often just annoying.

8. The more you get to know your date and love interest the more acceptable it is to keep moving with the physical affection. Not that moving early is wrong, but fostering a good relationship is often about patience and understanding, which is just what you’ll be doing.

9. As you date regularly and do get more intimate physically, don’t forget about the emotional and spiritual connection you have been working on. This is what will help your relationship endure the tough times so don’t ignore it as you get to the physical side of things.

10. The most common mistake made by those who begin to date regularly is to lose the independent side of life. Realize that you still have a personal life and deserve to have things that are only about you. Keep those things and begin to let the two intertwine to form your new life.

Alex Carter is the Dating Expert for 10 Good Tips, an online help site for web surfers looking for information on a variety of topics. For more about 10goodtips.com/blog/dating-resources/ Dating Regularly or other serious dating issues, read more from Alex at 10GoodTips.com 10 Good Tips!

In the past, couples were more than likely to live in the same town, even the same house for much of their marriage. He usually stayed at the same job throughout and she coordinated their social schedule with a group of family and friends that seldom varied. Their priorities were security and predictability.

Now, as people change their jobs and their dwelling places almost as readily as kids outgrow their clothes, marriages must be based on far more than the old intimacy, which was largely dictated by sex role stereotypes.

The differences between the two unique individuals are the substance of their growing romance and intimacy. Like bread and jam, the magic happens when you put them together, yet neither one loses their special taste and texture.

When we met, Jim was super laid back, read and wrote poetry, loved dogs and hated his job as an investment banker. Judith was compulsive and controlled, loved to travel and was a successful psychologist of 10 years with a thriving private practice. She also felt cloistered, seldom getting out of her office into the larger world.

There were many, many differences between us that had to be discussed, navigated and resolved. Sometimes heated fights erupted—we can each be pretty flammable! And in the process we were each improved upon by the influence of the other. Jim was the delicious jam to Judith’s great homemade bread.

Now Jim is far more organized, professionally visionary and loves all the ways he gets to express himself through our work. Judith is much more easy going, loves to improvise on the radio and is dedicated to influencing people to rejoice in their differences. Together we get to be out in the world with new people all the time.

We have fertilized one another’s worlds by our differences—and that is what the new intimacy does. It creates a loving, romantic miracle between two previously separate individuals.

It truly is a miracle and it can be yours—whether with your lover, your children, your friends— anyone!

Judith Sherven and James Sniechowski share the secret of life-long romance. Be sure to get your copy of their Free 1 hour teleseminar “Keeping Romance Alive,” and find out how. Just go to ==> judithandjim.com judithandjim.com

Creditor and liability problems can arise from a variety of sources, including divorce. Asset protection in divorce generally involves actions taken by spouses who want to protect their financial futures and avoid an unjust property division award.

Marital property consists of all income and assets acquired by either spouse during the marriage, even if an asset is in one spouse’s name. This marital property is subject to division between divorcing spouses. Distinct property, such as property owned prior to the marriage, your inheritance, and gifts are excluded from marital property; these types of property remain non-marital property and are not divided at the time of divorce.

Individual property can lose its identity if mixed with marital property. For example, if you deposit your pay check into your premarital savings or investment account after marriage, then that account is considered marital property. The same may happen with inheritance property, like a joint account with your spouse. If you wish to have your partner’s name on the deed and keep your entire equity or a particular portion of that equity, you should both sign an accord stating who possesses what piece of the property. Without an agreement, it will be treated as marital property and divided at the time of divorce.

There is a common custom in which some couples chose to sign prenuptial agreements to protect individual assets. A prenuptial agreement refers to a contract signed by spouses before a wedding; the agreement defines their property rights and expectations upon divorce. The agreement is also used to waive certain spousal inheritance rights, establish designated alimony, or even waive alimony, under certain situations. Courts will usually respect such agreements if they are drafted properly.

If your objective is solely asset protection in divorce, whether it is premarital, gift, or inheritance, a prenuptial agreement may not be necessary. Simply keep the non-marital asset separate. And think long and hard before you invest any large asset in your partner’s name.

e-assetprotection.com Asset Protection provides detailed information on Asset Protection, Asset Protection Trusts, Offshore Asset Protection, Asset Protection Strategies and more. Asset Protection is affiliated with i-assetmanagement.com Asset Management System.