The Government is consulting on significant reforms to inheritance legislation that could, for the first time, grant cohabiting couples automatic rights to inherit from one another. While the changes are intended to simplify the process for couples, experts are now cautioning that they may simply create a “dangerous false sense of security”.
Under existing legislation, if someone passes away without a Will, their estate is automatically passed to their spouse and children first, however this only applies to couples who are legally married. Couples who are neither married nor in a civil partnership have no such automatic entitlement, regardless of how long they have lived together or whether they have children. The Government is now seeking views on whether cohabiting couples, those living together outside of marriage, should be granted the same automatic inheritance rights as married couples and civil partners when their partner dies without leaving a Will.
However, Lauren Smith, Partner at Taylor Bracewell Solicitors and a participating Will Aid solicitor, has cautioned: “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 conducted by Will Aid, the national campaign encouraging people to get their Wills sorted, revealed 68% of cohabiting couples don’t grasp what occurs when someone dies without a Will and a quarter mistakenly assume they will automatically receive their partner’s inheritance despite not being married or in a civil partnership.
Lauren added: “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 outlined that should the proposal be implemented, it could prove challenging to establish what qualifies as a ‘cohabiting couple’. For instance, if people share a home but maintain entirely separate finances or if a couple separates and subsequently reunites.
Lauren stated that fundamentally there’s a more significant concern at stake: “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.”