Book Review: Money Without Matrimony

MONEY WITHOUT MATRIMONY: The Unmarried Couples Guide to Financial Security, Sheryl Garrett and Debra Neiman, Dearborn Trade Publishing. Paperback $21.95 (248p) ISBN 1-4195-0688-9)

Who knew? If you were in a heterosexual relationship and got married, there would be 1,143 federal laws that protect your personal finances. But since that's not the case for the 1.2 million gay and lesbian couples in America, out lesbians and Certified Financial Planners Sheryl Garrett and Debra Neiman have written Money Without Matrimony to help answer the hard financial planning questions. This well-written book helps gay and lesbian couples "plan around" the federal laws that negate right of survivorship benefits for same sex couples when tragedy arises like the illness or death of a partner. According to Garrett and Neiman, "If you want your partner or someone other than your parents or next of kin - no matter how distant a blood relationship - to sort through your possessions, inherit or distribute your stuff, the situation is far more complicated" than if you were married. Aside from looking at doomsday scenarios the book lays out everyday decisions that both short- and long-term couples should be thinking about like whether or not to merge finances, deciding how property should be rented and owned and the ramifications of each decision. Using easy-to-understand, accessible language, the authors have written a book that is a quick read or an easy reference guide to answer financial questions on the fly. While this book covers some of the same legal ground that can be found in other books on the topic, Money Without Matrimony picks up where the others left off with savvy personal finance advice in addition to legal advice. Filled with sage advice from financial professionals about the unique financial planning issues gay and lesbian couples face, this book forces partners to ask the questions they need to answer until (if) they receive full legal marital rights.

Al Martin is a freelance writer covering personal finance, real estate and investing topics.

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Book Reviews Information:

Related Articles

Druxel Manor - Book Review
"Druxel Manor is a stimulating thriller-mystery-romance novel that keeps the reader guessing. Who do you trust? Everyone seems to know a little something but no one is willing to explain - or rather, what is revealed only creates more confusion.
Review: How To Become A Film Critic, The World's Greatest Job
Norm Goldman reviews Christopher Null's "How To Become A Film Critic, The World's Greatest Job" ...
Book Release: Ginas Poems - Adventures in Love
Book Release: Gina's Poems -- Adventures in LoveWritten & illustrated by Siegfried J. HegerISBN 0-9763503-0-0 Perfect Bound, 72 pages, (8.
James Martells Methods and Yahoo
In James Martell's Affiliate Handbook, he mentions that he focuses on optimizing almost exclusively for Google, since they get the bulk of search engine traffic. But there's been a little bit of controversy lately about some of James's sites being penalized by Google.
Book Review: Seth Godin - All Marketers Are Liars
Let me start with a small disclaimer: I am a HUGE fan of Seth Godin, and have been ever since he wrote Permission Marketing and probably always will be. Seth has a very unique take on traditional marketing (he thinks it's dead) and I agree with him.
Book Summary: Good To Great
Explore what goes into a company's transformation from mediocre to excellent. Based on hard evidence and volumes of data, the book author (Jim Collins) and his team uncover timeless principles on how the good-to-great companies like Abbott, Circuit City, Fannie Mae, Gillette, Kimberly-Clark, Kroger, Nucor, Philip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo produced sustained great results and achieved enduring greatness, evolving into companies that were indeed 'Built to Last'.
My Dad Wears Polka-dotted Socks! - Review
"Bright colored sheets just inside the sturdy book cover certainly set the mood for this excellent book geared for children between the ages of 4 and 8.The main character is a young boy who is desperately fretting over the class reaction to his strange family.
Review for Broken Angel, by SW Vaughn
Broken Angel, by SW Vaughn, breathes with an insistent life of its own, pulling readers along through the dark underworld of barbaric fight clubs and prostitution.The story unfolds as twenty-two year old Gabriel Morgan, destitute and starving, discovers a lead to his missing sister's whereabouts deep in the seedy underbelly of Manhattan.
Political Frugality - Review
It is hard to specify exactly what genre Larry Roth's new book can fall into. Political, frugal living, gay rights, taking care of the body and more are covered in Political Frugality - Guerrilla Economics for the Demonized, Devalued and Disenfranchised.
Amapola - Book Review
Alan Heywood writes a stimulating, though sometimes improbable, adventure novel in Amapola. What I mean by this is that the characters are seemingly very lucky or were simply at the right place, at the right time.
Living in Darkness - Book Review
Award winning author John Roynesdal, is a retired English teacher who has written for more than 15 years and produced 3 books for his Phillip Michael Carnegie Mystery series. Throughout the series, John focuses on issues that prevail on mankind: greed, prejudice, poverty, dysfunctional families and the conflict between traditional and modern societies.
The Southwest Airlines Way - AchieveMax® Top Ten Book Review
Over the years, several books and countless magazine and newspaper articles have been written about Southwest Airlines. Numerous MBA programs highlight the Southwest structure, its culture, its CEO, its low fares and other reasons as to why it is the bright spot in an otherwise dismally performing industry.
Story Structure - Three Heroes
Three Heroes Story Structure follows the Hero's Journey mould but distinguishes itself by making both the hero and the shape shifter both likeable and deserving of the final prize.The Classic Hero's Journey also makes the shape shifter likeable and deserving of the prize but in Three Heroes, we get more of the Shape Shifter's back-story and surprisingly little of the Hero's.
A Monster Named Criney who Makes Kids Whiney - Review
Excellent! The best children book of this genre that I have had the pleasure to review!A Monster Named Criney Who Makes Kids Whiney by Heather Zuckerman can be classified as a juvenile fiction geared for children aged between three and seven. Mood-setting bright color full pages greet the reader upon opening the durable cover.
Stewie Griffin Depicts the Winter of Spenglers Discontent
Oswald Spengler predicted a protracted winter in The Decline of The West. Spengler wasn't alone in his depiction of a distopian society where fashion reigns over utility, luck is dominant, bureaucracy squelches progress and the rich have a firm hold on the reigns of an incipient global culture.
Book Review: What Color Is Your Parachute?
What Color is Your Parachute?Reviewed by: Matt Keegan© 2003, Matthew C. Keegan, LLCFinding a job today presents unique challenges that did not exist five years ago.
Primal Leadership - A Book Summary
Primal leadership takes center stage in this book. This concept goes beyond the set of conventional competencies on the making of a leader.
The Road of Silk: Book Review
"The Road of Silk is an adventure fantasy, with mystical and magical elements and a high energy feel to it that any reader will enjoy. Although this novel is written for an adult audience, I believe anyone over the age of 10 could easily become immersed in its pages.
Book Review for The Margaret Ellen, A Karen Cobia Mystery by RC Burdick
I've discovered a new favorite author, and his name is RC Burdick.The Margaret Ellen is an ocean-drenched mystery, filled with vibrant characters, palpable sea breezes, and spine-tingling suspense.
Screenwriter and Novelist Marguerite Ashton Receives Rave Reviews for Mafia Novel
When asked what gave her the idea for the story, she replied, "I am a big movie fanatic of all genres, but if you were to ask my favorites, it would be mafia and horror. With Taylini, I decided to add a twist that is not included in your usual "mafia stories.