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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:
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| 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 |
| 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. |
