Civil partnerships – the issues should a partner pass away

Some 6,000 gay and lesbian men and women tied the knot last year in the UK – this still means many thousands of relationships are not recognised in law should one of the partners dies.

There are many couples that do not get a civil partnership or even write a Will, which can store up serious problems.

This can lead to a situation where control of estates goes completely out of the hands of a partner in the event of a passing.  The surviving partner might find that they do not have any rights to the home they live in or even a say in the funeral service wanted.

There are other key issues such as not having a Will – civil partners will receive up to £200,000 of the estate with the balance being distributed amongst the partner and family of the deceased.  So if the deceased had wanted his or her family to receive assets and the will amounted to less that £200,000, then they would get nothing

These are just a couple of points that need to be considered amongst many.