1 in 6 couples living together are unmarried or not in a civil
partnership. If unmarried or same sex couples do not leave Wills,
they will not benefit at all when it comes to inheriting from your
partner. The intestacy rules would apply, not taking into
consideration anyone unrelated by blood or marriage.
Possible scenarios: If an unmarried couple have children, the
surviving partner will receive nothing, but the children of the
deceased will inherit the estate. If the deceased has no children,
then generally the closest living blood relatives will share the
estate, leaving nothing to the surviving partner. This could be a
devastating outcome after having lost your loved one. But there are
solutions!
The first solution is simple. It's time to propose! If a couple
was able to then tie the knot or enter into a civil partnership
then regardless of whether you did not have a Will, you would
receive your spouse's estate. If this is not an agreeable solution,
you can always jointly own everything, such as bank accounts and
property. However, the only way to be completely safe is by writing
a Will, leaving what you wish to your life partner. Easy!
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