Civil Partnerships For Heterosexual Couples

Theresa May has announced that all couples in England and Wales will be able to choose to have a civil partnership, instead of marriage, after the Supreme Court held it is unlawful that opposite sex couples don't have the same right to choose.

Many opposite sex couples have religious or emotional objections to "marriage" but would like the commitment and legal protections of a civil partnership.

Civil partnerships were created under the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and gave same sex couples similar legal and financial protection to a marriage. Since 2014, same sex couples have been able to choose whether to marry or to enter into a civil partnership.

A civil partnership is a document signed by both parties giving their relationship a legal status with similar legal rights to marriage. It provides legal and financial protection for both parties during the relationship and also in the event of the relationship ending by the death of one of the parties, or a breakdown in the relationship.

These include:

Making gifts free of inheritance tax between spouses or civil partners. Using their partner's nil rate bands (ordinary and residence) on the survivor's death Pension rights, which do not necessarily pass to those not in a marriage or civil partnership. Rights under intestacy laws where there is no Will. For deaths after the 1st October 2014, where there are no children, the surviving spouse or civil partner receives everything. Where there are children, the surviving spouse or civil partner receives all of the personal chattels, a statutory legacy of £250,000, plus interest from the date of death, and half of the residuary estate. Under intestacy rules, where there is no spouse or civil partner, all assets held in the deceased's sole name pass to other family members and the surviving partner has no right to any of the assets. Pension companies may not be contractually required to pay anything to surviving partners of the deceased who were not married or in civil partnerships.

It is estimated there are over 3.3 million unmarried couples in the UK who live together with shared financial responsibilities with nearly half of them having children. Those couples are vulnerable because they do not have the same...