On the legal and financial consequences of marriage

There are legal and financial consequences to marriage, and the laws regarding how property is divided between married couples differ from state to state. In addition, there are ways to create legal arrangements between couples without marriage. To find out details, consult a lawyer. To get a sense of some of the concerns, you might be interested in browsing written resources such as the following:

Joint Property by Alexander Bove. Simon & Schuster, 1982. A concise legal overview of the forms of sharing property ownership.

A Legal Guide for Lesbian/Gay Couples by Hayden Curry and Denis Clifford. Nolo Press, 1988. A self-help guide specifically on legal matters of lesbian and gay couples: raising children, buying property together, wills, etc., with accompanying sample contracts.

Money, Property & Wealth: What's Mine, What's His and What's Ours by Margaret B. Schulman. Probus Publishing, 1992. A book for women about taking control of one's own property. Includes a summary of state laws affecting property and samples of documents such as wills, trusts, and non-marital partnership.

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