Divorce Insurance, Pre-Nups and Co-habitation Agreements in North Carolina

As this recent New York Times article points out, some people are choosing to begin their marriage with the (potential) end in mind.

Pre-nuptial (a/k/a pre-marital) agreements have been around for a long time.  The new trend is that couples that cannot, or do not want to get married are choosing to put their understanding about how their relationship will work and how it will end in writing up front. 

 In North Carolina, same sex couples cannot be legally married.  So, a pre-marital agreement is not an option. Given that the number of same sex couples in North Carolina has risen 68% since 2000, cohabitation agreements may become far more popular.

For heterosexual couples that want to live together but choose not to marry, a pre-marital agreement is likewise useless.

But, both kinds of couples have the option of executing a co-habitation agreement. 

This kind of agreement can set forth the understanding of how the relationship will operate.  For instance, the terms can state that one partner will stay at home to raise children, while the other is expected to earn the family funds at work.  Or, it can state that both parties will work outside of the home. The agreement can state how many children each party expects to have or adopt, how many vacations the couple will take and even whether one of the partners is expected to cook meals (I have actually seen that).

More commonly, these co-habitation agreements pre-arrange how (but not if) the relationship will end.  The terms often set forth how assets and debts of the relationship will be handled in the event of a break-up.  They can dictate what process the parties will use to determine these issues in the event of the break-up (Collaborative Law, mediation, etc…). 

Some see these agreements as cold or anathema to romance. But many couples are comforted to know that they have agreed not to drag each other through a nasty court battle if things don’t work out.  And, having a discussion about big important issues and expectations before entering a long-term relationship is a good idea, even if it does not lead to an agreement. 

As for divorce insurance, one company (in North Carolina of all places) thinks it’s a great idea. 

From my point of view, the best insurance for your marriage is to discuss the big issues before you get married, and then commit to really truly communicating during the relationship.  Discussing the terms of a pre-nuptial agreement encourages that conversation far more than simply buying an insurance policy.  

AUTO INSURANCE YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT

As you read this, do you know if you have uninsured (UM) or under-insured (UIM) automobile insurance? If you don't, you should call your agent today and find out.

Here's why:

In North Carolina, if you are in a car accident that is not your fault, the other driver's auto insurance policy is obligated to pay for your medical care, pain and suffering, lost pay from missed work, etc...BUT, did you know that drivers in North Carolina are only required to have $30,000 worth of liability insurance? That means that in the accident scenario I just mentioned, you could be limited to just $30,000 worth of recovery, regardless of your actual injuries or medical bills.

Further, there are a lot of people driving around in this state without any liability insurance at all. If one of those people hits you, then you will most likely receive nothing for your medical bills or injuries.

Think $30,000 sounds like a lot? Think again. I recently represented a woman who was injured by a driver that ran a red light and hit her in the driver's side door at 50 miles per hour. Her car landed on an embankment after it was knocked out of the intersection. She had multiple fractures and spent six (6) days in the hospital. Her medical bills alone were well over $30,000. That's her car in the picture above.

Guess how much insurance the at fault driver had? $30,000. This did not even cover my client's medical bills, much less lost wages or compensation for the weeks that she could not walk, use the bathroom by herself or live without very strong pain medications and 24 hour help from her daughter and son-in-law.

Now imagine if that driver did not have any liability insurance at all! This is just one of many clients that discovered too late that they did not have enough uninsured or under-insured auto insurance on their policy.

UNINSURED auto insurance is insurance that YOU buy on YOUR auto insurance policy. It pays YOU if YOU are hit by someone that does not have insurance.

UNDER-INSURED auto insurance is also insurance that YOU buy on YOUR auto insurance policy. It pays YOU if YOU are hit by someone that does not have enough insurance to pay all of your damages.

The important point is this: YOU BUY UNINSURED AND UNDER-INSURED COVERAGE TO PROTECT YOU AND THE MEMBERS OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD. It is the way to protect yourself from drivers that have little or no liability insurance. And those drivers are out there in large numbers.

The other thing to keep in mind is that under-insured coverage is reduced by the amount of the other other driver's liability policy. That means that if the other driver has $30,000 policy limits and you have $50,000 under-insured limits, your total available insurance coverage is $50,000, not $80,000. In my opinion, $50,000 is just not enough uninsured or under-insured coverage.

What's the bottom line here? I strongly encourage everyone that can afford uninsured and under-insured coverage to buy at least $100,000 worth of both on their policy. And, if you can afford $250,000 or more, then buy it. And, don't wait for you insurance agent to mention it, because they usually will not.

I hope you never have to recover benefits under either of these types of insurance. But, it will be too late if you are injured by a driver who has little or no insurance of their own. Call your insurance agent and ask them about your under-insured (UIM) and uninsured coverage(UM) today.

PLEASE NOTE THAT NOTHING ON THIS BLOG SHOULD BE CONSIDERED LEGAL ADVICE AND THAT VIEWING THE INFORMATION ON THIS BLOG DOES NOT CREATE AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN US. YOU ARE ADVISED TO CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY TO CONFIRM THE CURRENT STATE OF ANY LEGAL INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS BLOG, AS THE LAW CONSTANTLY CHANGES.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LEGAL REPRESENTATION, PLEASE CONTACT ME BY EMAIL OR AT (919) 781-1311. YOU CAN ALSO FIND ME AT WWW.NICHOLLSCRAMPTON.COM (this site currently being updated).