There is trust, yes, but it's nice to have law to turn to in case of need. I don't want it to get to that, obviously.

Have a lawyer draw up an agreement beforehand. It may not be legally binding. But it means things need to go really awry for the other side to challenge them. So it can help. Though yes, there is the cost in trust of drawing it up. But honestly? I think the emotional cost of going into such an endeavor is so high that you have to be ready for such a thing to not rock it anyway.

I call my mom by her name, and refer to her by her name a lot when talking to other people, but I still eed to clarify she's my mother, just like I clarify my significant others are significant others.

"Parent." "They are my parent."