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After 5 December 2005 same sex couples are going to be able to formalise their relationship by entering into Registered Civil Partnerships. The legal status of this relationship is in very many ways equivalent to marriage. The process of registering a Civil Partnership is a formal one carried out at a Registry Office or at any of the other venues now licensed for that purpose. In order to enter into a Civil Partnership both parties must not only be of the same sex but must be single – that is to say neither married nor party to another Civil Partnership.
Entering into a Civil Partnership has far reaching consequences. For taxation purposes the couple will be treated in many ways similarly to married couples and, for instance, on the death of one partner their assets will be able to be bequeathed to the other without inheritance tax being payable.
A Civil Partnership can only be dissolved by the court and it will need to be established that the partnership has broken down irretrievably by establishing unreasonable behaviour, two years separation with both partners consenting, five years separation or two years desertion. Unlike marriage, adultery will not be a ground for dissolution of a Civil Partnership but it is likely that the courts would treat entering into a sexual relationship with someone else as being unreasonable behaviour. On the breakdown of a Civil Partnership the courts have the same power to reorganise the parties’ finances as they have in relation to the breakdown of a marriage. In particular the courts will be able to order one partner to pay a lump sum to the other, to transfer property to the other, to divide a partner’s pension and to order one partner to pay continuing maintenance to the other.
As there are potentially far reaching financial consequences of registering a Civil Partnership, people considering doing so may wish to consider whether to enter into a pre-registration agreement in relation to finances. Whilst, as the law currently stands, these will not be legally binding they may carry considerable weight with the courts in the event of dissolution of the Partnership.
For further details, please contact howard.stacey@simkins.com (+44 (0)20 7907 3082).
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