LGBT Partnership Agreements

An area that is often overlooked is that non-married couples in LGBT relationships can enter legal agreements, which protect both parties and their property in the event of the end of the relationship, whether through divorce or death. But LGBT partners must avail themselves of the protections provided by the law to all adults capable of entering into contracts, which can have the same or similar effects on the property and lives of the parties as a formal marriage. Such parties should also utilize wills, living wills, physician directives, HIPAA releases, Healthcare Power of Attorneys, and other important documents which provide comprehensive protection and fulfillment of their wishes in the event of injury, illness, or death of one partner.

At Quaid & Quaid, LLC, we believe in every person’s right to enter into a binding contract to share their life with another person, which is essentially what a marriage provides, and we do not believe that a person’s sexuality should have any bearing on their ability to enter into such a contract. We provide legal advice and draft contracts for LGBT couples that provide protection, and allocate rights and responsibilities between the parties. Quaid & Quaid, LLC, can draft all documents necessary to allow LGBT couples the peace of mind and dignity to live their lives with legal benefits afforded to other committed couples. It is far too often that we hear stories of LGBT couples who live very happily together for years, only to find that when their partner dies, they are excluded from assets jointly accumulated and even the right to make final arrangement decisions. These agreements help insure that such rights will exist, and instruct medical care providers and family members that when one becomes ill that their partner will have the right to access medical information and/or make medical decisions on their behalf. We can draft partnership agreements, power of attorneys, HIPAA releases, and other documents that help place partners in a LGBT relationship on equal footing with the inherent protections afforded to a husband and wife in a legal marriage.

Growing and critical issues facing LGBT couples are the issues of adoption, surrogacy, birth, and raising of children by LGBT parents. Often there are issues of one partner being a biological parent to the child and the other parent having no rights whatsoever absent appropriate legal measures undertaken by both parents/partners. LGBT relationships are not immune to the strains caused by bringing a child into the relationship. Parental rights should be protected to ensure that the non-biological parent does not lose his or her parental rights merely because they are not biologically related and never took the steps necessary to adopt the child and/or create a legal conservatorship. At Quaid & Quaid, LLC, we understand the roadblocks in place that make a LGBT adoption more difficult, and we provide legal advice, guidance, and adoption services to LGBT couples in need of those services.

Finally, just like any other, LGBT relationships end in heartache and hurt feelings, and require the partners to divide property acquired during the relationship. However, under the current status of Texas law, if written legal agreements are not in place it may be impossible to resolve disputes within a framework similar to that afforded heterosexual couples and the possibility exists that one partner may be left with nothing upon termination of the relationship. At Quaid & Quaid, LLC, we can help guide you through this uncertain maze of legal rights and help you reach a resolution. Because of the inadequacies in Texas law, privacy concerns, and the emotion intrinsic in such a resolution, we strongly encourage our LGBT clients to engage in a collaborative law process to resolve their differences.