Family & Relationship Matters

• Adoptions (details)
  - the process that makes a person the legal parent of a child not born to that person. In Ohio in a same-gender marriage, if one of the couple became the legal parent of a child before the marriage, the other must now adopt the child to assure that he or she is also a legal parent of that child.
• Parentage Orders for Same-Gender Couples (details)
  - a court order that assures that the non-birth parent of a child born to a same-gender couple who were married at the time of the birth will be legally recognized everywhere as the equal parent of the child.
• Shared Custody for Unmarried Couples (details)
  - a court order that gives equal custody with the legal parent of a child to another person who is not married to the legal parent of that child. (In Ohio, only one single person or a married couple may adopt a child.)
• Nomination of a Guardian for a Minor Child (details)
  - a clause in a will or a separate document that nominates another person to be the legal guardian of one’s minor child in the event of the parent’s death. A court is not bound by the nomination, but will usually give it considerable weight.
• Implications of Marriage Equality
• Living Together Agreements (details)
  - an agreement between unmarried persons that details the terms of their relationship, such as who pays for what or how possessions should be divided in the event of a breakup.

Probate Matters

• Estate Administration (details)
  - the legal process in a probate court by which a deceased person’s estate (what the person owned) is disposed of.
• Name Changes (details)
  - the process by which a person changes his or her legal name. The reason may be to take the last name of a spouse, to assure that all members of a family have the same name, or to reflect a change of gender.
• Guardianships (details)
  - a legal construct by which one person known as the guardian serves as the overseer of another person’s (the ward’s) well-being and/or that person’s estate (what the person owns).

Planning Ahead

• Wills (details)
  - a document that specifies how a person, after the his or her death, wants to dispose of what he or she owns or controls. Every adult should have a will. A properly drafted will appoints an executor who, in concert with the probate court, will handle the deceased’s estate without the need to post a bond. Without that clause in the will, the administrator of the estate must post a bond that can be expensive. And if a person dies without a will, state law determines how the estate is apportioned, starting with the next of kin.
• Trusts (details)
  - a document that appoints another person, the trustee, to control the disposition of one’s possessions outside of the probate process.
  
  Living Trust (also known as a Revocable Trust) – a trust that can be revoked at any time up until the settlor’s (trust maker’s) death.
  
  Irrevocable Trust – a trust that is a permanent and binding document from the time it is made.
  
  Testamentary Trust – a trust that is incorporated into a will. The trust becomes irrevocable upon the testator’s (will maker’s) death. A testamentary trust is useful if any beneficiaries could be minor children, because it appoints a trustee to control the disposition of assets to the child.
• Powers of Attorney for Financial Matters (details)
  - document that gives a person the legal authority to handle the financial affairs of another person. (All powers of attorney of any kind expire upon the death of the person who gave the power.)
  
  General Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Matters – a power of attorney that is in effect upon its execution (i.e., when properly signed, witnessed, and notarized).
  
  Springing Power of Attorney for Financial Matters – a power that goes into effect only upon the mental or physical disability of the person giving the power.
• Living Wills (details)
  - a document that specifies a person’s wishes regarding that person’s medical care, including an irreversible comatose state.
• Powers of Attorney for Health Care (details)
  - a document that gives another person the legal authority to make medical decisions if the giver of the power is unable to make those decisions.
• Agent for Hospital Visitation (details)
  - gives another person, who may not be your next of kin, the authority to visit you in a health care facility—such as a hospital or a nursing home—to:

  • receive your personal effects upon admission
  • be informed of your medical condition
  • allow or disallow other visitors.
• Agent for Disposition of Remains (details)
  - gives another person who may not be your next of kin or family, as that term is traditionally defined, the authority:

  • to make your funeral arrangements for you
  • to authorize an autopsy
  • to receive your remains.

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