Civil partnerships

The Civil Partnership has been welcomed as a much needed reform of the Law in December 2005 to allow Gay and Lesbian couples the right to legally register their partnership and to have the same rights and responsibilities as conventional married couples.

To register a Civil Partnership you need:-

• A notice period of 15 days before registration
• Both parties should declare their eligibility to enter into a Civil Partnership.
• The registration document should be signed by both parties in the presence of two witnesses- at the appropriate Register Office.

No formal ceremony is legally required but a public record of the registered partnerships will be lodged as with marriages this can be ended by divorce in the same way as a conventional Marriage.

Ceremonies can be arranged if required at the same licensed Venues and details of these can be found on the websites of your local authority. It is important to remember that the venue should be known when planning to register your Marriage/Civil Partnership service, if you are not having the service at your local Register Office. You will also find venues and other services in this Magazine which will be pleased to offer you their service.

Legal advice is therefore essential before embarking on a Civil partnership as with straight couples a divorce can be financially disastrous and can lead to many complex financial and tax implications and could cause.

• Immigration problems
• Incorrect treatment for tax problems
• Death of a partner. Inheritance tax law may exclude you from your expected inheritance.
• Maintenance of children of the family relating to new and existing orders for maintenance etc could cause a problem or two.

It makes sound sense to seek proper legal advice on all the above matter and others as a priority before planning a civil partnership. This will avoid the pitfalls should a dispute occur and make the dealing with his a lot easier on both parties.

If either party should die without a will your assets may not be divided how you would wish so if you haven’t got a will then now is the time. Approx 3 out of 5 people in this country still do not have the protection that a will affords them. So if you have not got one then get one now call the solicitor featured it may be too late… later!

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