Living Together & Breaking Up - Comparing Indiana With Scotland

Reading Breaking up is hard to do financially for cohabiting couples from Scotsman.com Business once again brings to mind how disadvantaged those Hoosiers who live together without getting married are compared with other places.

First of all there is no legislation in Indiana protecting the property rights of those cohabitating. Hit the link below for my archived articles on cohabitation for more details.

So everything in these three paragraphs describes a protection that unmarried Hoosiers lack:

The act provides for the sharing of household goods purchased during the period the couple lived together. However, this does not include gifts or any items that you or your partner have inherited from a third party. If a decision cannot be reached, then the law presumes that items are owned jointly by the couple, with goods shared or the value shared.

Money, securities, any car or other vehicles or pets you have are not regarded as household goods under this legislation.

Both partners are also entitled to an equal share of any money derived from any allowance made by either cohabitant for their joint household expenses and/or any property acquired out of that money."

With the General Assembly done with creating new legislation this year, there will be no statute for cohabitants this year. With the continued pushing for an anti-"gay marriage" constitutional amendment to our Indiana Bill of Rights, I suspect a serious opposition to any protection for the property of unmarried couples in Indiana. That does not mean those interested in this subject should not contact their state Representatives and Senators.

Without legislation and you want to live together, then you have three choices:

1. Get a cohabitation agreement; or
2. Plan on litigation; or
3. Eat your losses and move on down the line.