27 Ways to Know If You've Found the Right Relationship for You

By Stacy D. Phillips

There is nothing more glorious than falling in love! What a wonderful feeling it is when, after all that searching and seeking, you finally hook up with that compatible mate. But wait! How can you know that the person you think is right for you, is really right for you?

All you have to do is make sure that you ask the appropriate questions. At the right time and place, I suggest the two of you exchange answers to the following questions:

1. Kids or no kids
2. Smoking or no smoking
3. Drinking or no drinking? (Same for drugs)
4. Religious beliefs: Match? Blend? Clash
5. Who works? Who stays home (especially when the kids come along)
6. Who wants to live where?
7. Who controls the checkbook
8. What is his/her personal relationship with his/her family? Too distant? Too close Too weird? Appropriate to your standards?
9. How are holidays spent? At home? With family? Alone? Vacationing
10. Windows opened or closed? Heat/AC on or off
11. What side of the bed must you (he/she) sleep on
12. Where to spend vacations? Leisure time
13. Sick: Left alone or babied
14. Appropriate gift giving: birthdays? Yuletide holidays? Special occasions
15. Who does what around the house
16. What is acceptable hygiene
17. What are his/her hobbies, pastimes
18. Preferences: Music? Movie? Book favorites
19. Favorite foods
20. Pets or no pets? What kind
21. Decisions about the children: School, church, discipline, allowance, extra curricular activities, friends, and curfew?
22. Mealtimes: Early or late
23. Furniture: Vintage or contemporary
24. Sleeping habits: Four hours or eight?

More compatibility factors
If this list is not enough to help you determine whether or not your new love is right for you, try these:
1. How does your new love handle a crisis?
2. Behave in public places?
3. Treat your friends and family?

I also think you can tell a great deal about your new mate by the way he treats his mother and how she treats her father. Observing how a person regards that parent is key in establishing how he or she will treat you!
###

Stacy D. Phillips, who represents mostly celebrity and high-net worth individuals, is the managing partner at Phillips, Lerner, Lauzon & Jamra, LLP in Century City, California, and the author of "Divorce: It's All About Control -- How to Win the Emotional, Psychological and Legal Wars."