Legal Question in Family Law in Maine

Re: Very Important Question

Maine law does not recognize a "domestic relationship" for purposes of probate or property interest; parties are either married or unmarried, there is no middle ground. Maine does not have the concept of "common law marriage" or anything like it, as some states do.

The insurer may recognize such a relationship for insurance coverage purposes, but that designation does not give you any interests or rights outside of that specific insurance policy.

With respect to the estate issues, if your partner owns real estate in Maine with his ex-partner as joint tenants, then upon his death his partner will solely own the property as the surviving joint tenant. I do not practice in Florida and I am unfamiliar with its law, but my educated guess is that the same result would apply to the Florida property if they own it jointly.

Even if he adds your name to the deeds, upon your partner's death, you would own the property with his ex unless the ex is willing to convey whatever interest s/he has.

The bottom line is that unless you are listed as the joint owner or an owner with rights of survivorship, you will not receive any of your partner's assets in the event of his death. This is simple to remedy: if he is a Maine resident, he needs to create a will to provide for you in the event of his death. This benefits him as well, he can also designate you as his Power of Attorney in the event something were to happen to him to make him unable to manage his own affairs. Generally speaking, as you are not married, without a Power of Attorney, you would be unable to pay his bills, take care of his property, etc.

If you would like to discuss this in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.