Page 103 - The Circle of Life

Tell your family and then the fear of them finding out disappears and takes away

a serious weapon in your worst enemy's arsenal. We do that often in law. We
say the wicked things in the beginning of the statement and at the end of the
trial no-one remember nor care about it either. It is actually an American legal

tactic first observed by non-Americans at the Nuremberg War Trials in Germany

after the War."

One final note on the commencement value amount; please be honest for the

tax man may just look at that amount and at what you declared on your income
returns. Any large discrepancy may start wheels in motion which neither you nor

your lawyer thought about.

Common Law Marriage

There is a rumour amongst the public that you have to live together as man and

wife for longer than six months before a common law marriage is presumed.
That is not true for it depends on your intentions which will be deducted from

the way you acted. Wearing a ring and doing things which married couples do
will indicate you wanted to be married but you are never automatically married.

What does this mean? Under the Marriage Act or even the Civil Union (same sex

marriage) you have to actually get married via the prescribed formula (process)
to be considered married and obtain all the rights and obligations which goes

with a marriage. Since you are not legally married here it means that living
together has no legal advantages which I can think off for your estate is seen as

one of in community of property with no protection against the hounds of hell. I
will never recommend you to live together and it has nothing to do with religion.

In law living together falls under "universal partnership" and once established
(implied or tacitly) you are in deep trouble because you have zero protection.

Not only can the hounds of hell attach and sell your assets for your partner's
debts but you do not have any reciprocal obligation of maintenance as is usual in

marriage whilst it lasted. Meaning that one day he will pack his bags or yours

and throw you out. You will then have great difficulty in court to claim
maintenance from him. Nor are you exempted from donations tax in respect of
donations between the two of you. Yes the tax man is not impressed either. Nor

102