Southport Connecticut Family Law Blog

Connecticut couples may not always think about their legal rights. However, if a couple is not married, they may need to pay closer attention to these rights.

People may intend to leave all of their assets to their partner after they die. According to Time magazine, unmarried couples typically need to ensure that their partner is listed as the heir on a will. Additionally, this partner usually needs to be listed as the beneficiary on life insurance and retirement benefits to receive these assets. Without some form of documentation, a person's assets are usually subject to Connecticut intestacy laws, and the assets might instead go to his or her siblings.

People in Connecticut who are gay or lesbianand who want to start a family like their heterosexual counterparts know that their road to parenthood may be long and arduous. However, the desire to enjoy this part of life is understandable and many have found ways to do this successfully.

In fact, it appears that more people in gay or lesbian relationships and marriages have been able to become parents in Connecticut in large part thanks to the state's support of such endeavors. At one clinic near Norwalk a doctor who works at the clinic indicated that in just a few years the percent of gay and lesbian parents there has increased roughly 80 percent. A hospital in Greenwich where helping lesbian couples give birth has been ongoing is now also more recently known as a safe and loving place for gay men to bring their children into the world.

Residents in Connecticut who get divorced know that there will be many new things to learn and decisions to make. One of the difficult parts of ending a marriage is deciding how the couple's assets and debts will be split between both parties. It is important for spouses to know that making this decision requires not simply agreements between each other but may also require that they follow certain processes in order to avoid unforeseen pitfalls.

When it comes to dividing retirement assets, this is especially important. As explained the U.S. Department of Labor, a 401K account owner is generally the only person legally allowed to take money from that account. In addition, if the account owner withdraws money to pay to a spouse for a property division settlement, that owner may end up having to pay not only taxes on the distribution but also penalties if they do not meet retirement criteria.