Same-Sex and Unmarried Couples

[Updated May 2013]

Books, Treatises, Etc.

A Legal Guide for Lesbian & Gay Couples, Denis Clifford, Frederick Hertz, Emily DosKow, Nolo Press, 15th Ed.
Family Caregiver Alliance
Lee’s North Carolina Family Law, Suzanne Reynolds, Michie, 5th ed. (particularly Chapters 4, 16 & 17)
Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples (14th ed), Toni Lynne Ihara, Ralph E. Warner and Frederick Hertz (2008).
Medicaid, Spousal Impoverishment and Same-Sex Couples
Sexual Orientation and the Law, Roberta Achtenberg, Ed., Thomson West. 2 volume treatise.

Brochures and Web Articles

CLE Manuscripts and Other Resources

Essential LGBT Law 101, Ellen W. Gerber; prepared for and presented at After Lawrence: LGBT Legal Issues in North Carolina, a Continuing Legal Education Program presented by North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Attorneys (NC-GALA):
- Buying Real Property Together
- Owning Personal Property Together
Essential Elder Law Planning for LGBT Clients, Laura Zdychnec, The ElderLaw Report, Vol. XXII, No. 7 (February 2011).
Estate Planning for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Clients, Paula A. Kohut.
Estate Planning For Same Sex Couples 2004, Cynthia L. Barrett, ALI-ABA CLE (Sept. 2004), Sophisticated Estate Planning Techniques Co-sponsored by Massachusetts CLE, Inc.
Planning For Non-Traditional Families, Jerry Simon Chasen, ALI-ABA CLE (Feb. 2006) Advanced Estate Planning Techniques.
The Effect of State-Legalized Same-Sex Marriage on Social Security Benefits and Pensions,Congressional Research Service; CRS Report RS21897 (January 2008)

Law Reviews and Business Journal Articles

Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples
Estate Planning and the Transgender Client. A Spencer Bergstedt, 30 W. New Eng. L. Rev. 675 (2008).
Estate Planning for Cohabitants [Part of Symposium: Pitfalls and Promises: Cohabitation, Marriage and Domestic Partnerships], M. W. Hickey, Jl of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers v. 22 no. 1 (2009) p. 1-28.
Estate Planning for Unmarried Partners. J.S. Rubenstein, Institute on Estate Planning Univ. of Miami) v. 43 (June 2009) p. 11.1-20.
Gay and Lesbian Elders: Estate Planning and End -of-Life Decision Making. Nancy J. Knauer, 12 Fla. Coastal L.J. 163-215 (2010).
Growing Old Together: Estate Planning Concerns for the Aging Same-Sex Couple. Aimee Bouchard and Kim Zadworny, 30 W. New Eng. L. Rev. 713 (2008).
LGBT Elder Law: Toward Equality in Aging, Nancy J. Knauer, 32 Harv. J.L. and Gender 1-58 (2009).
Nuts and Bolts: Estate Planning and Family Law Considerations for Same-Sex Families, Patience Crozier, 30 W. New Eng. L. Rev. 751 (2008).
Note: Still pioneers: special social and economic hardships for elderly gays and lesbians. Annick Persinger, 21 Hastings Women’s L.J. 137-157 (2010).
Quality Care for Queer Nursing Home Residents: The Prospect of Reforming the Nursing Home Reform Act, Michael J. Ritter, Note. 89 Tex. L. Rev. 999-1018 (2011).
Thy Will Not be Done: Why States Should Amend Their Probate Codes to Allow an Intestate Share for Unmarried Homosexual Couples, Charles Patrick Schwartz, 7 Conn. Pub. In. L.J. 289 (2008).

Magazine Articles

Considerations, Pitfalls, and Opportunities That Arise When Advising Same-Sex Couples. Raymond Prather; Probate & Property, May/June 2010, Vol. 24, No. 3.
Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples, Joan M. Burda, ABA General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division Magazine.
Probate & Property(The Magazine of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the American Bar Association).

Organizations & Resources: National