They manage to get their new lawyer (after extensive searching on Emily's part) to meet them on the next Saturday.
They try to go for a subtle introduction of their needs, asking questions about how to legally protect each other in a partnership, write appropriate wills, purchase property together, give them legal rights to their non-biological children. Their new lawyer, a Susan Hall, quickly cuts through their dancing around the topic. "So Jennifer and William are legally married, and you're trying to figure out how to cover your asses when William and Emily are spiritually married without dissolving the prior relationship."
They glance nervously at each other before nodding. "That's right," Will answers.
She goes through the process of explaining wills to them. After some discussion of their financial situation, Susan recommends that they find a realtor who they can make aware of their partnership, purchase the home in Emily's name with Emily being the mortgage borrower. It's what Emily's research had already led her to anticipate, in light of the reality that she is bringing in the biggest income in the family. After signing the original deed they can go right ahead and immediately file a change of ownership to add JJ and Will's names to the deed. They make another appointment to finish the wills, and she explains that they'll be referred to in-house tax attorneys for help dealing with the tax issues that will result from their living situation, as well as a real estate attorney to help them buy their home.
They meet with their mortgage lender later that morning, providing him with all of the documentation he'd requested Emily bring in over the phone. After reviewing the paperwork briefly and inputting some of the data, he tells them that pending confirmation of all the documentation by Tuesday morning, she'll likely be pre-approved for the maximum, leaving them with the option of putting forward a large down payment on the home or pursuing a secondary route of financing for the excess costs. It'll be a squeeze getting the kind of home they want for their growing family on that budget given the area housing prices, but the probable profit they'll make from selling JJ and Will's existing home should leave them with a decent budget.
Two days later, the call comes in while Emily is at work, confirming that Emily is pre-approved for the legal maximum of $625,500.