Rights of an Unmarried Couple
The most important interest that unmarried couples might want to protect is property rights upon death. When one unmarried partner dies, the other partner has no rights in the property of the deceased unless contract or other legal agreement exists. Couples have a few options to ensure property is distributed as desired. Among these, wills and trusts are the most common, but other methods to convey property or money are available through payable-on-death accounts and beneficiary status to insurance proceeds.
Even with these agreements, they don't always offer protections to problems that arise during life. Buying or selling property jointly might require prior agreements allocating the rights and liabilities of their endeavors. These agreements aren't only beneficial legally, but they might also encourage partners to evaluate each other's financial situations. Often times, this can occur before marriage, when the partners want to buy property or investments together before their vows.
One of the more difficult areas of unmarried couple planning is child custody and visitation. Adoption is the best option if neither or just one partner is the biological parent. Otherwise, a father can establish paternity through a court process to get rights to his child. Different options exist, but without such legal procedures, one partner may be without legal rights to a child he or she has raised.
It's a smart idea to consult an attorney before engaging in any financial or property sharing or buying when living as an unmarried couple. Also, an attorney could help with parental rights and adoption matters in these and other situations. For more information how to protect yourself and your partner, contact the attorneys at Sivia Business and Legal Services, P.C..
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 Employees of a Bankrupt Employer
With such poor economic conditions, businesses are increasingly seeking bankruptcy protection. However, depending on what type of bankruptcy a business files, the employees may be faced with reduced salary or may be out of work with limited recovery.
If a firm files bankruptcy and lays off its workforce, the Bankruptcy Code provides that worker's salaries and wages get high priority for distribution from the business if earned within 180 days of filing bankruptcy. This means that workers get paid before the company has to pay out money for loans and other debts it owes. However, this priority is only limited to $10,000. So, if the company owes you more than that, you'll have to get in line with the rest of the creditors.
It's more likely that a company has only filed for Chapter 11 reorganization and retains most of its workforce. In that case, employees may be at risk of being terminated, especially if non-union. There's not much protection for employees here. A company can cut workers, reduce salaries or cut benefits. Often times, this puts an employee in a squeeze. Unless an employee is union or has a contract, the business is free to modify terms of employment at will.
The last concern for employees is pension benefits and retirement. Defined contribution plans are not affected by an employer's bankruptcy other than the fact that further contributions may be cut off. An employee should be careful about how he or she invests money, because if too much is invested in the business itself, bankruptcy would hurt the investments. However, these accounts are maintained by the employee and are independent of the company. However, defined benefit plans are maintained by the employer, and could be at risk during a business' bankruptcy. The government may provide an employee protections against losses for these types of pension plans.
Even though things may look bleak for a business' future, the employees do have some ways to protect themselves. Even without a company's help, proper investments and pension plans can guard against any company troubles. For information about asset protection and employment rights, contact the attorneys at Sivia Business and Legal Services, P.C.
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