Social media has democratized much of our society that was once the domain of experts. Anybody with a phone and a WiFi connection can be a pop star, movie producer, or celebrity chef – all of the content free of charge for the user. It seems everyone enjoys free advice when they are not familiar with the subject matter – just ask your doctor about that ChatGPT diagnosis you came up with (hint: it’s probably not a tumor). The experts in the field know that the “life hacks” and generic recommendations to seemingly every problem lack nuance and personalization.

Even though there is not much one can do to reduce taxes these days, I still enjoy reviewing client tax returns. There is a lot to learn about a client’s financial life through their tax return, and I usually come away from a review with at least one discussion point. With software driving so much related to tax preparation, taxpayers are not asked to be aware of specific rules regarding more transactional taxable events. TurboTax is the de facto expert that many defer to, without thinking of questioning any output that isn’t out of line with our expectations.

What can you do if you don’t want to get married for personal reasons, or can’t for legal reasons, but are in a committed relationship and want some of the advantages of a marriage? You may want to consider a domestic partnership. Though not available in all 50 states, some offer statewide benefits, where others, including Maryland and Virginia, have partial or local recognition. The advantages are defined state by state (and locality by locality), but in general, a domestic partnership normally provides: