I've got a thing about vampires. Always have. Always will. I mean that I'm not mildly interested in vampires like it's a current trend (which it's peaking for the last several years). No, it's more serious than that. To confess, I'm rather obsessed with them.

My obsession and enjoyment of vampires nowadays has expanded into the popular images of vampires, in everything from "True Blood" to "Twilight" (it's actually been rekindled by both of these forms of entertainment) despite the twisting of the myths and legends, even the customs and mores, in the modern day storytelling (and retelling) of the vampires that appear, at least, in these movies and the television series.

While I'm accepting of these alterations (shall we attribute them to "poetic license" for the writers involved?) I am still fascinated by and also adhere to the classic vampire images, legends and traditions established by classic vampire literature from Bram Stoker to Anne Rice.

This is also true of the incredible and early history of film where the vampire also ruled with silent film masterpieces like F. W. Murneau's "Nosferatu" and Carl Dreyer's "Vampyr" to the hookier black and white talkies, the Hollywoodesque version of Count Dracula played by Bela Lugosi. Then there's the endless list of vampire films from the campy B-movies to spoofs like "Andy Warhol's Dracula" and Roman Polanski's "The Fearless Vampire Killers" to a few decades leap to "Interview with a Vampire" (based upon Rice's novel) and Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (based upon Stoker's seminal novel)."

At the center of the vampire tradition are the themes of immortality, other creatures beyond human beings, magic, the occult, Satanism, the defiance and unexplainable against science and the natural order of things, the limits of organized religion, sets of beliefs, love, death and blood as the life force. There is such complexity of meanings, interpretations, cultural and social implications, you can never lose your level of interest.

Yes, I do have an opera cape, very a la the Count, and I've regularly dressed as the Son of Satan, Son of the Devil (what Dracula loosely translated from the Romanian means) for costume balls and, of course, numerous Halloweens since the late 1960's. Frankly, I have to admit that I've made a formidable Dracula each time I've donned the whole outfit down to white gloves and ambassadorial sash and pendant (remember that we're talking about an official title of Count). I can always easily go for Royalty.

And I was known to wear the cape to class back in the days of my prep school years as an English prof in New England where the more progressive side of the academic administration allowed me to offer an elective for the honors students, "Dracula and Vampire Literature." We're talking the late 1970'

The course was an instant success and immediately ended up with a waiting list. The lucky 12 students enrolled got to study the weighty, annotated version of Stoker's novel, an anthology of vampire stories (including the vampires of Brooklyn to London), and in Search of Dracula, a comprehensive and richly illustrated history. The finale of the course was a trip to then Communist Rumania to follow Vlad the Impaler (the real life figure upon which Dracula is based) from his modest birthplace in the village of Sighisoara, through Transylvania to the Carpathian Mountains to an impressive but crumbling in disrepair Dracula's Castle.

Dear Attorney Di Pietro: I know that Pennsylvania does not recognize same-sex marriage but is there something like a premarital agreement my partner and I could execute since we are planning considerable financial expenditures and I am bringing more to the relationship financially than my unemployed partner? Scott S. Philadelphia, PA

Dear Scott: You are absolutely correct that same-sex marriage and those rights that flow from that legal status are currently not recognized in Pennsylvania.  In order to protect the assets that you may already own but intend to bring into a relationship, you would need to focus on elements of general contract law. Some states such as California and Massachusetts have set up prototype "Prenuptial Agreements" (Prenups) to deal with the status of their civil unions or same-sex marriages.

Simply put a premarital or prenuptial agreement is basically a contract between two parties which specifies the property rights of each party. Typically, in heterosexual marriages full disclosure is required as a prerequisite to validity. In the same-sex setting, one would list all of their assets and property as well as debts. Why might this be needed? First, it always is a good idea to clarify financial rights and responsibilities. Usually in same-sex circumstances people enter into co-habitation agreements to accomplish this if they are generally on equal financial footing; however if one party owns more than the other it may be wise to clarify the extent of that ownership.

Second, "prenups" also may give protection in the area of debts. It may give clarification and additional insulation to the party who may be living with a partner who has accumulated large debts. Generally, because of contract law, you will not be responsible for your partner's previous debts incurred in his/her own name alone. Once a relationship is established however, and for example when credit cards are used to purchase joint property like furniture, or to pay joint household expenses, the lines of who really owns the debt could be blurred. So it is always a good idea to enter into an agreement beforehand which makes clear the parties responsibilities when it comes to previous debts, as opposed to those debts incurred as a couple during the relationship.

A third reason for making a prenup agreement is to cover the situation where you may want to protect family or even your own children's interests. Many gay men and women have children from previous relationships and may want to clarify and delineate what property may belong to them while also making provisions for their current partner (obviously a Last Will and Testament affords the best method of asset/estate distribution). Finally, although we hate to think of breakups in our relationships, one other important goal of a prenup is to avoid drama when a split occurs. In the heterosexual world, property rights are governed by divorce, separation and other statutes. Unless the courts grant same-sex couples equal rights under these laws, one would need to clarify what happens to property when a breakup occurs---by contract, hence a prenup agreement. In order to avoid potential conflict, arguments, and perhaps costly litigation, it is a good idea to spell out what should happen to joint property, joint debts, and separately owned property brought into a relationship when that relationship ends.

There are other legal tools which may help same-sex couples protect their interests and property rights. These include Co-habitation Agreements; Postnuptial or Postmarital Agreements (agreements made during a relationship); Powers of Attorney; and Last Wills and Testaments. Sometimes these documents may overlap and intersect in purpose. In any event, the important thing to remember is to be pro-active and to plan ahead. Someone once said, "A stitch in time saves nine" when it comes to relationships and property rights, this old adage couldn't be more relevant.