Dear Attorney: my partner and I have been together for twelve years and bought our small home together, do we really need a Last Will and Testament to convey all of the property to the other if one of us dies? RJC

Dear RJC: first of all you didn't tell me if your deed is one which has a "right of survivorship" clause in it, this means that by operation of law, upon the death of one joint owner the real property automatically passes to the other surviving owner by right of survivorship. If your deed does not include this type of ownership (and it must be specifically spelled out in the deed and not presumed) then you and your partner are known as "tenants in common" or also called co-owners and each in theory owns an undivided interest in the entire property. Upon the death of one partner the remaining interest passes not to the other partner but via the terms of deceased's Last Will and Testament. This means that if a Will exists, the provisions of the Will would then determine who inherits the deceased's interest in the property. If no Will exists, then the state's intestacy statutes control by a pre-established order of interests.

If your deed does include the "right of survivorship" language, then at the moment of death the surviving owner gets the decedent's interest and owns the property in full and no Will can dispose of that interest.

RJC, since you two may in fact own other property together including personal property such as furniture, cash, art work, automobiles and the like, it would be wise to seek expert legal advice regarding estate planning and the drafting of a Last Will and Testament. You should also consider the pros and cons of having a pertinent General Power of Attorney, a Living Will, and Health Care Power of Attorney prepared by counsel. Remember if you die without a will, the intestacy statutes control and often times this means, parents, siblings, and other family members have legal first dibs. Without proper planning a long time companion can unfortunately be left out in the cold in a jurisdiction which does not recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions.

Dear Attorney: What is a Living Will? Caroline H., Drexel Hill

Dear Mary: A Living Will is really a misnomer and not a "will" as we normally think. It is a written statement of choices and directives you may make regarding your health care under certain future circumstances. A Living Will generally is made when one is healthy and able to clearly decide about future medical care in the event of a terminal illness or prolonged state of unconsciousness.

The living will may contain a refusal of life-support treatment, or in the alternative, may list a preference for life-sustaining measures at all costs. It is customary to also designate someone to make medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated and cannot speak for yourself. Sometimes we get very specific about providing or not providing: pain medications, types of treatment such as artificial feeding tubes, breathing machines, surgery, kidney dialysis, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation efforts. We generally also include a statement about organ donorship if the maker is so inclined.

A Living Will should not be confused with a Durable Health Care Power of Attorney. Such a Power of Attorney usually names a person to make health care decisions for you; it also gives them the right to obtain and discuss all medical information and treatment with appropriate health care providers. Unlike the Living Will, a Durable Health Care Power of Attorney need not be limited to terminal illness or prolonged state of unconsciousness.

Submit you legal questions to Legal_Queeries@QUEERtimes.net

John Adam Di Pietro is managing partner of Di Pietro Law Offices, East Norriton, Pennsylvania. He earned his J.D. degree from the University of Notre Dame. In addition to being a civil litigator for most of his career, Mr. Di Pietro also brings in excess of thirty three years of experience in real estate, estate and municipal law to his practice. He has served as solicitor for many municipalities and zoning and planning boards; representing local governments, developers, general contractors and financial institutions. He also served as underwriting counsel for First American Title Insurance Company in its Philadelphia office.

He has substantial experience in teaching land use, zoning, title and real estate law courses and seminars for members of the Pennsylvania Bar and for various professional organizations. He is a member of the Pennsylvania, Montgomery County and Philadelphia Bar Associations as well as several federal district courts.

Let's hear it for diversity! Let's hear it for the bears!, It's the tenth anniversary of the Provincetown Bear Weekend, July 10-18, with a full week of activities and events for queer bears and their friends, including the ultimate tea dance at the legendary Boatslip Resort, 4 to 7 pm, on July 16, as one of the many ways in which the historic gay destination of Cape Cod will be populated by the national bear community.

Then let's take a trip to Southern California, first to Los Angeles, where Christopher Street West, 1970-2010, will celebrate its 40th anniversary of LA LGBT Pride in West Hollywood, June 11-13. This year's pride theme will be Pride 365: Power, Passion. Purpose. During my years in LA, 1989-1992, more than 375,000 queers gathered in pride at this amazing pride, festival and street fair. What are you waiting for?

The following month, let's return to Southern California, but this time to San Diego LGBT Pride, July 17-18, This year's theme will be One World, One Heart, One Pride (I'm always fascinated by all the various themes that pride organizations around the world create to celebrate our community.) The ever-growing gay-friendly city of San Diego offers such wonderful experiences as the 13 different museums in the inviting Balboa Park and the world-famous San Diego Zoo, to name just two more reasons for a visit.

Back in New York City, the Stonewall Community Foundation will mark its 20th anniversary with a "Stonewall Vision Dinner" both to celebrate their two decades of achievements and continue to raise money for their good works at the benefit event. The upscale gala will take place on June 16 at the Vista, 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza. Let's show our pride in the Big Apple!

Let's get up and dance, hopefully, very often this summer. Promoter/producer Mark Baker takes over Orlando, Florida, with his legendary "Wonderland," June 3-7. David Flower celebrates Summer Camp, on July 4-5, in Provincetown,Cape Cod, headlining DJs Manny Lehman with a Pier Dance and David Knapp with the sunset Boat Cruise. It's definitely a steamy non-stop partying weekend.

July 4 Love 4 All returns to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, 8 pm to 2 am, with DJ New York City's own Joe Gauthreaux, with lighting by Paul Turner, to be held at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, with an open bar all night long. The event benefits the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center. So you can party and support a worthy cause. It's perfect!

Let's do Greek, right in our own backyard. The annual Greek Festival will return, June 3-6, at St. George Cathedral. 256 South 8th Street, in the Society Hill section of Philadelphia. The celebration of Greek and Middle Eastern culture (it's worth it alone to indulge in the homemade food!)will feature lots of world music, including Greek, Turkish, Armenian, Arabic and Pontian, performed by various groups such as the Golden Greek Orchestra and the Middle Eastern Ensemble. The four-day festival runs all day long from 11 am to midnight. Proceeds benefit the ongoing work of the cathedral. I'll see you there.

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