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is
now synonymous with the word “married”. From the appointed date civil
partnerships will be treated in exactly the same way as married couples
for all tax purposes. This means that civil partnerships will be
recognised under the intestacy rules and for the purposes of inheritance
tax assets passing from one partner to another will be free of tax.
Civil Partners will have the same capital gains tax treatment as married
couples. The disadvantage to this will be that civil partners will only
be allowed to have one principal private residence between them rather
than one each before becoming subject to tax.
In England and Wales
it will be important for those entering into Civil Partnership
Agreements to remember that entering into the agreement will revoke any
earlier Will unless it was made in deliberate contemplation of the
agreement. This should not be overlooked because many same sex couples
have already made Wills in favour of one another and if they enter into
a Civil Partnership Agreement they will find that those Wills are
automatically revoked.
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What is
civil partnership?
Civil
Partnership is a new legal
relationship, which can be formed by two people of the same sex. It
gives same sex couples the ability to obtain legal recognition for
their relationship for the first time. Same-sex couples who form a
civil
partnership will have parity of treatment with those
opposite-sex couples who enter into a civil
marriage, in a wide range of legal matters.
Some of the rights and responsibilities
civil partners will have include: |
| i)
A duty to provide reasonable maintenance for your civil partner and
any children of the family; |
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ii) Equitable treatment for the purposes of assessment for child
support, life assurance, employment and pension |
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benefits and inheritance of a tenancy agreement; |
| ii)
Recognition under succession rules; |
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iv) Protection from domestic violence; and |
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v) Recognition for immigration and nationality purposes. |
When will my partner and I be able to form a
civil partnership?
The Civil
Partnership Act received Royal Assent on 18 November 2004. This
means that it has now passed all its stages in Parliament and has become
law.
To
view the text of the Civil
Partnership Act 2004 click the link
below.
http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2004/20040033.htm
The legislation will be brought into operation on
5
December
2005.
Why can't we form a
civil
partnership now?
Bringing the Act into operation involves significant changes in many
areas, for example pension schemes, court rules, immigration rules, the
registration service and the benefits agency. There is a considerable
amount of secondary legislation to be put before both the UK and
Scottish Parliaments. In some cases the introduction of these changes
will need to be preceded by a statutory consultation period. In others,
training of personnel or testing of new systems and procedures will be
necessary. It takes time to make these changes, all of which are
critical to the successful implementation of
civil partnership.
How does civil
partnership differ from marriage?
Civil
Partnership is a completely new legal
status, exclusively for same-sex couples, distinct from marriage. The
Government has sought to give civil
partners parity of treatment with spouses, as far as is possible, via
the rights and responsibilities that flow from forming a
civil
partnership. There are however a small number of differences
between civil
partnership and marriage, for example, a
civil partnership is formed when
the second civil partner signs the
civil
partnership document, a civil
marriage is formed when the couple exchange spoken words. Opposite-sex
couples can opt for religious or civil
marriage as they choose, whereas formation of a
civil partnership would be an
exclusively civil procedure.
What are the eligibility requirements for
forming a civil
partnership?
In
order to form a civil
partnership in the UK, the couple must:
i) both be of the
same sex
ii) not already be in a
civil
partnership or marriage
iii) be 16 years of age
or older; and
iv) not be within the
prohibited degrees of relationship.
In
Scotland individuals
aged 16 or over will be able to register their
partnership without the need for parental consent. This is what
applies to opposite-sex couples in
Scotland
seeking legal recognition for their relationship through marriage. In
England and Wales and Northern Ireland, individuals who are aged 16 and
17 will have to obtain the written consent of their parent(s) or legal
guardian(s) before forming a civil
partnership.
The prohibited degrees of relationship may be found in
Schedule 10 of the Civil
Partnership Act for
Scotland,
Schedule 1 for England and Wales and Schedule 12 for Northern Ireland.
They list the people who, due to their relationship by consanguinity or
affinity (broadly speaking, blood relationships), are absolutely
prohibited from forming a civil
partnership with each other, or who a
prohibited from forming a civil
partnership with each other unless
certain conditions are met.
Will I have equal survivor pension rights
as a civil partner?
Civil
partners will be able to accrue survivor pensions in public service
schemes and contracted-out pension schemes from 1988.
What about tax?
As
a consequence of the introduction of civil
partnership,
civil partners will be treated in the same way as spouses for tax
purposes. These changes will be dealt with in the next available Finance
Bill and will have effect from the date that
Civil Partnership Act is
commenced. |
