Member Article

Inheritance law changes leave unmarried partners out in the cold

October 1st saw the biggest changes to inheritance law in a generation. But, with no changes to rules surrounding the rights of unmarried partners, many lawyers and activists are decrying the changes as a missed opportunity.

The new intestacy rules, which came into law on the 1st of October, are designed to bring greater clarity to the inheritance rights of family members in the absence of a will. These laws, known as Intestacy, had previously been criticised for not keeping pace with social changes in the last 100 years.

“Before the laws were changed, there was no recognition of common-law partners: partners who have been living with the deceased for years but were not married or in a civil partnership,” explains Paul Dodsworth of Wilmslow-based, Estate Planning Solutions. “The new laws don’t address or change this. As before the best advice is to make a will to ensure your wishes are known and are respected”

According to the Government, the changes are designed to make the system fairer and abolish some of the archaic terminology that, until recently, littered the legislation. But some lawyers and observers have been questioning whether the new laws go far enough.

The concern rises from modern living habits, with many partners choosing to forgo marriage or civil partnership, especially if they have no children together.

“Many people spend years, sometimes decades, living together and sharing responsibilities, bills and, in some cases, mortgages. There’s still some consternation that these people will still, essentially, get nothing if their partner passes away,” says Paul.

Other changes, such as the abolition of rules that held children back from their inheritance if they were later adopted, have been welcomed but changes to common-law rules had been expected. Many activist groups had been campaigning hard for rules that allowed a proportion of the estate to go to unmarried partners who had been living with the deceased for more than 5 years.

If you would like to know how the rules may affect you or your loved ones, Estate Planning Solutions in Wilmslow, Cheshire have a blog on the subject which you can read at: www.estplan.co.uk/october-1st-important-changes-to-intestacy-laws/

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by David Lomas .