Civil Partnerships

    




    


Civil Partnership Act 2004

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force on the
5 December 2005 providing a long overdue legal
recognition of same sex couples' rights. Same sex
couples now finally have largely the same legal rights
as that of heterosexual married couples. However,
there does appear to be 2 areas where the legal rights
of civil partners and married couples differ.
Dissolution?
The grounds for dissolving a civil partnership are the
same as those for dissolving a marriage with one
exception - adultery is not a ground for dissolution
in a civil partnership unlike in marriage cases.
Pre-Partnership Agreements
Pre-nuptial agreements have been available for many
years but it would seem that only the most wealthily
couples who intend to marry avail themselves of this
agreement, and it there appears to be little
encouragement from legal forums to use them.
Conversely, with the introduction of Civil
Partnerships, much emphasis has been placed on
entering into a Pre-Partnership Agreement.
The Pre-Partnership agreement has been extant for many
years now. Previously referred to as 'Cohabitation
agreements' it was considered a useful document to
have where couples - both same sex and heterosexual -
decided to live together. More often than not however,
people never knew of the existence of such a document,
as is probably the case today.?
With the introduction of civil partnership rights,
much emphasis has been placed on having such an
agreement. The document should be entered into prior
to registering the partnership, and is designed to
deal with how the couple wish to deal with financial
issues in the event that the partnership is
dissolved.?
The Law Society of England and Wales has argued in its
literature that whilst Pre-Partnership Agreements -
like pre-nuptial agreements - are not legally binding,
with the courts usually deciding to split assets 50/50
on divorce pre-partnership agreements ought to be
considered as the law will treat civil partnerships in
the same manner as divorce.
Tax & Wills Implications
Civil partners will be treated the same as married
couples for tax purposes. Thus, all the same
inheritance tax exemptions available to married
couples will also be available to civil partners. Such
exemptions will include the Nil Rate Band allowance
(currently ?275,000) and the 'spouse' exemption
whereby all transfers between spouses are exempt from
inheritance tax and will also be the case with civil
partners. (For more detailed advice on inheritance tax
exemptions see Inheritance Tax).
The other implication of entering into a Civil
Partnership from a Wills perspective, is that any
existing will shall be invalidated upon registering
the partnership. The extant Will shall automatically
be revoked, and a new Will should be drafted.
If you wish to make a Will in expectation or
contemplation of entering into a civil partnership -
or marriage for that matter - specific clauses will
need to be drafted into the Will to ensure that it
remains valid after entering the partnership/marriage.

Thankfully the law relating to Civil Partnerships is
on a very similar footing to that of marriage, thus
matters are not too complicated. As with advice given
to married couples, making a Will is important as you
should not assume that your spouse/partner will
inherit your share, and it may well be that specific
clauses will need to be drafted into Wills for civil
partners.

About The Author

Janine Byrne holds a Bachelor of Law degree with
Honours & a post-graduate diploma in Legal Practice.
Also gained qualification in Wills Writing & is the
owner/author of www.Draft-Your-Will.com.
enquiries@Draft-Your-Will.com

    

    

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