Unmarried? Plan Before You Sell Your Practice

If you own a dental practice and are not married, the sale does not invent the paperwork for you.

Do not count on marital defaults to protect your partner when sale proceeds, titles, and medical decisions arrive together. State law and your documents vary. Your attorney gives the legal read. Your CPA covers tax. This is educational only.

Here is the short answer. Before sale proceeds arrive, check four things with your partner: beneficiary designations, ownership titles, partner or cohabitation agreements, and health-care decision documents. Make sure each matches what you want.

Why a practice sale makes this urgent

A sale can bring a large sum to your accounts at once. That money has to land somewhere. New accounts open. Old titles may no longer match what you own. Old retirement forms may still name someone else.

If you are married, many default rules lean toward a spouse. If you are unmarried, those defaults often do not. Some couples assume years together make them common-law married. Many states do not recognize common-law marriage. Ask your attorney what your state recognizes. You do not have to marry. You do need to know what your status does before funds wire.

This differs from a general estate-plan refresh after a sale. That review asks whether your documents still describe what you own. This one asks whether unmarried status leaves gaps your partner cannot fill without paperwork.

Start with a clear conversation

Open talk comes first. Shared goals and the goals you do not share. How you handle unexpected costs. What each of you wants the sale proceeds to protect. You may hold entity interests, an office building, and retirement accounts next to personal accounts. Decide what supports both of you, and what stays separate. Write it down. Let documents catch up.

Check beneficiary designations

Retirement accounts and many insurance policies pay whoever is named on the form. Ask your attorney how your will and those forms work together.

Ask together:

• Who is named on each retirement account today?
• Who is named on life insurance tied to you or to your practice?
• After the sale, which new accounts need a beneficiary on day one?

For unmarried couples, each partner usually needs to name the other on purpose if that is the intent. Non-spouse beneficiary rules can differ from spouse rules. Ask your attorney and CPA what that means.

Check ownership titles

Title decides who owns what when life changes. If you own the office building with your partner, ask how it is titled and what happens if one of you dies. Joint title with rights of survivorship is one path some couples use. A property co-ownership agreement can spell out who paid for the down payment, mortgage, and repairs. Your attorney drafts or reviews it. If your practice entity is in your name alone, ask your attorney how sale proceeds should be titled when they arrive. Ask before you sign the letter of intent.

Check partner or cohabitation agreements

A cohabitation agreement can set ground rules for shared assets and debts if you separate. It is not a substitute for every state or federal rule, and creditors are not required to honor every private agreement. Clarity still beats silence near a liquidity event. A practice partner in the business sense is a different document. A buy-sell between owners is about the entity. Do not confuse it with the personal agreement between you and the person you share a life with.

Check health-care and medical decision documents

Money is not the only gap. Health-care decisions may default to next of kin rather than to an unmarried partner, depending on your state and paperwork. Living wills or advance directives describe care wishes. A durable power of attorney can let your partner speak with physicians and make medical decisions if you cannot. Written consent is often needed before health records can be shared. A financial power of attorney can help with insurance questions if you are sidelined. Put these in place while both of you are healthy.

A simple pre-sale checklist

Walk this list with your partner and your attorney before the close:

1. Beneficiary forms match your wishes.
2. Titles on the building, entities, and major accounts match your wishes.
3. Wills, trusts, and powers of attorney name the people you intend.
4. Any cohabitation or property agreement is current.
5. Health-care directives and medical papers are signed and findable.
6. Your CPA knows how sale proceeds will be received and titled on day one.

If any line is "I am not sure," make that call next.

Bring the right professionals

State law varies. Documents vary. This is not a claim that unmarried partners never have rights. Rights rarely arrange themselves. Your attorney reads your facts. Your CPA reads the tax path. A broker or qualified appraiser sets what your practice is worth.

Do the quiet work before the wire

Beneficiary forms, titles, agreements, and health-care documents protect the life you already built together. Do it before the wire hits.

If you want a second set of eyes on whether your plan is ready, that is what the Exploratory Call is for.

Book your 25-minute Exploratory Call

Before sale proceeds arrive, which of those four areas still needs a hard look?

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This article is for educational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or investment advice. Consult your own qualified professionals about your situation.