You've been living together for years, decades even, but you just haven't quite made it down the aisle yet, or maybe you just didn't want to!
It doesn't matter though because you're in a 'common law marriage', you will be entitled to each others assets if one of you should die, right?
Wrong! I am sorry to tell you this but 'common law marriage' is not legally recognised, it is virtually a myth!
If you are not married or in a civil partnership and one of you should die (without a valid Will in place) you could be entitled to nothing!
What if your partner dies and they;
Have savings meant for both of you in their own bank account
Solely own the home you both live in
Have children from a previous relationship
Can you afford to potentially lose your savings and home? If your deceased partner has children then they will automatically inherit, due to the law of intestacy, anything owned by the deceased.
Even if no children are involved, under the Rules of Intestacy, if your partner dies without a will, and you are unmarried you would not automatically inherit anything from their estate unless they specifically named you as a beneficiary in their will.
Now, we aren't saying you should rush out and get married, unless you want to of course, you can start by simply writing your Wills.
Writing a Will allows you to leave any Property, Investments or Cash you have to each other ensuring you can both survive financially if the worst should happen.
However, if marriage/civil partnership is on the cards for the future be warned that this would revoke any Wills you have written.
To avoid this situation we can include a 'contemplation of marriage' clause meaning you wouldn't necessarily need a new Will writing at that time.
People tend to put off talking about passing and leaving their loved ones behind but if you haven't had the discussion already, now is the time to start.
To ensure you and your partner are protected financially contact Holistic Wills & Estate Planning and see how we can help.
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