The Government is proposing some major changes to inheritance rights
The Government is consulting on some major changes to inheritance rights which could let cohabitating couples automatically inherit from each other for the first time. It’s meant to make the process smoother for couples but experts are now warning it may just be a “dangerous false sense of security”.
Under the current rules, if a person dies without a Will their estate automatically goes to their spouse and children first but this only applies to couples who officially tied the knot. Couples who aren’t married or in a civil partnership don’t get these automatic rights, no matter how long they had lived together or even if they had children together.
The Government is now consulting on whether couples who are cohabiting, or living together, should get automatic inheritance rights like married and civil partners do when their spouse dies without a Will.
But Lauren Smith, Partner at Taylor Bracewell Solicitors and a participating Will Aid solicitor, has warned: “There is a very real danger that reforms like these create a false sense of security. People may believe the law will now ‘sort everything out’ for them after death. It won’t.
“In reality, modern families are far too complicated for any default legal framework to deliver the outcome every individual would want.”
Research by Will Aid, the national campaign encouraging people to get their Wills sorted, found 68% of cohabiting couples don’t understand what happens when a person dies without a Will and a quarter wrongly believe they will automatically get their partners inheritance despite not being married or in a civil partnership.
Lauren continued: “While the Government’s consultation seeks to address an important issue, it also highlights just how complicated modern family life has become. The reality is that there is no single legal solution that can accurately reflect every family’s circumstance or every individual’s wishes.
“We regularly advise people who have children from previous relationships, blended families, business interests, inherited assets or specific wishes about who should benefit from their estate. What may be the right outcome for one family could be entirely wrong for another.
“Automatic inheritance rights could produce outcomes that are directly contrary to those wishes.”
She explained that if the proposal does come into force, it might be difficult to define what constitutes as a ‘cohabiting couple’. For example, i people live together but keep their finances completely separate or if a couple splits and then reconciles.
Lauren said that ultimately there’s a bigger issue at play here: “The uncomfortable truth is that no law can ever know what an individual wanted. The only document that can do that is a professionally drafted Will.”
Peter de Vena Franks, Campaign Director at Will Aid, said: “The fact that nearly seven in ten cohabiting couples do not understand the current law demonstrates how much confusion already exists.
“The answer cannot simply be to create another set of default rules and hope people read the small print. Every family is different. Every estate is different. Every person’s wishes are different.
“The only reliable way to protect your loved ones is to make your intentions absolutely clear through a professionally drafted Will.
“By participating in Will Aid, couples can ensure their wishes are clearly documented, giving both partners peace of mind that their loved one will be provided for in the event of their death.”
