Gay Wills: Giving You The Choice
By Kathy Plumley
November 3, 2005
Under current legislation, if you don't make a Will your gay partner
has no automatic right to your estate. Instead, your family will benefit. If you
have no family, the State will benefit, leaving your gay partner with nothing.
If you don't make provision for your partner in your Will, they can apply to
the court for help after your death, but they have to prove that they were dependant
on you. If you both work or have similar salaries, this may prove very difficult,
lengthy and traumatic, with no guaranteed success.
Whilst dealing with the loss of your partner, having to go to court to fight
for what you believe is rightly yours, is not a position any of us want to be in.
The Civil Partnership Act will change things and give gay couples more choices:
- To be treated as a married couple or to be treated as an unmarried couple,
the choice is yours.
- To have automatic rights to some of their deceased partner's estate.
- To save a large amount of inheritance tax through a tax efficient Will.
Why this makes a difference
If you register a Civil Partnership, you can leave everything to your partner
free of inheritance tax, even if your estate is worth millions. This is because
you get the 'inter-spousal exemption' in the same way as married couples. If you
are not Civil Partners, but live together, there is the normal £275,000 inheritance
tax threshold.
However, if you don't have a Will, there are further complications and your Civil
Partner is only entitled to some of your estate.
A tax efficient Will
Whilst both partners are still alive, it is essential to have a tax efficient
Will that will ensure further savings of up to £110,000 after the death of the second
partner. This is the most effective for Civil Partners who leave everything to each
other.
On the death of the second partner there is the normal £275,000 inheritance tax
threshold. But, if you arrange for a discretionary trust to be set up that takes
you to the threshold level, you can have an estate of £550k before any inheritance
tax is paid.
Why write a Will?
Writing a Will ensures that you leave your possessions to the person or people
you choose. It also ensures your estate is handled exactly as you wish and can considerably
reduce or even eliminate the amount of inheritance tax due on your estate.
Your Will can also include or exclude specific people, according to your wishes.
If you already have a Will, it will be revoked when you register your civil partnership
(unless it was made in contemplation of Civil Partnership) and you will need to
write a new one.
Writing a Will could be one of the most important things you do.
If you want to know more, or are interested in a free consultation, then please
e-mail Kathy Plumley at: [email protected] (please put Kathy Plumley in
the subject line).
Whilst making your Will, you may wish to consider the following, to give you
complete peace of mind. Their benefits far outweigh the nominal costs involved.
Enduring Power of Attorney
This is a document that is drawn up whilst you are mentally sound. It allows
you to choose the people you want to look after your affairs in the event of you
becoming incapable of doing so. This may occur as a result of accident or illness.
Without an Enduring Power of Attorney if you become mentally incapable, the Court
of Protection will appoint someone to look after your affairs. This may be someone
you know, but it may not. It may be costly and very intrusive.
An Enduring Power of Attorney again gives you the choice to appoint someone you
personally trust to look after your affairs if the need arises.
Advanced Directive (Living Will)
This is a document that requests your life is not artificially prolonged if you
become so ill that you are unable to have a dignified quality of life. It is not
a legally recognised document at the moment (although it is being debated in parliament).
However, the medical profession are obliged to acknowledge its existence and take
account of your wishes.
For more information, e-mail Kathy Plumley at: [email protected].
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https://www.legalwills.ca/fr/.
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