Will, Marriage or both?

TonyMMM

p00hsticks said:

 You''ll have to get two other people involved  as witnesses, as apparently you can't just drag people in off the street any more...

You can still have two strangers as witnesses - no issue at all ( in England/Wales at least).

mar7t1n said:

 So on that basis what is the difference between marriage and civil partnership other than the label on the certificate?

There is no legal difference at all (at least in the UK) between a marriage and a civil partnership.

The only issue that can arise is that a few countries in the world still don't recognise civil partnerships, although that is usually more of an issue for same-sex couples.

poppystar

TonyMMM said:

p00hsticks said:

 You''ll have to get two other people involved  as witnesses, as apparently you can't just drag people in off the street any more...

You can still have two strangers as witnesses - no issue at all ( in England/Wales at least).

Presumably only if when you drag them off the street they can prove their ID - isn’t that the only reason you can’t grab and drag now? 

bunnygo

I understand the civil partnership means no ceremony, just signing - even less fuss as even civil marriage requires a cringy few minutes of vows. It does make life simpler. you can make wills 'in anticipation of civil partnership' so that they aren't invalidated by it.

check your pensions to ensure expressions of wish are up to date.

don't forget powers of attorney, and also advance directives.

TonyMMM

poppystar said:

TonyMMM said:

p00hsticks said:

 You''ll have to get two other people involved  as witnesses, as apparently you can't just drag people in off the street any more...

You can still have two strangers as witnesses - no issue at all ( in England/Wales at least).

Presumably only if when you drag them off the street they can prove their ID - isn’t that the only reason you can’t grab and drag now? 

Witnesses don't have to prove their ID ( or even give an address).... they just have to be present to hear the couple make their vows and to sign to say that they did that. They don't have to have ever met the couple before, know who they are, or have any connection with them at all.

macman

You cannot both 'go together' in law. In the circumstances  of a car accident or similar, the eldest is considered to have died first. Intestacy rules then follow, married or not.

cymruchris

macman said:

You cannot both 'go together' in law. In the circumstances  of a car accident or similar, the eldest is considered to have died first. Intestacy rules then follow, married or not.

I didn't know that... Not that it'll apply to me as there's only one of me... It's good to know.

Mojisola

TonyMMM said:

mar7t1n said:

 So on that basis what is the difference between marriage and civil partnership other than the label on the certificate?

There is no legal difference at all (at least in the UK) between a marriage and a civil partnership.

The people who fought for hetero couples to be allowed a civil partnership didn't want to be 'husband' and 'wife'.

Blue_Butterfly

The homeowner could give a "life interest" in their property to their partner or spouse. This means that they have it for their lifetime, but it is inherited by the homeowners chosen beneficiaries after the 2nd death. They can be worded to allow the survivor to sell and buy a more suitable property if needed. This type of will definitely needs to be written by a solicitor.

Another benefit of marriage or civil partnership for childless couples is Bereavement Support Payments. If the survivor is below pension age you get a £2500 payment followed by £100 a month for 18 months but you have to claim it. 

mar7t1n

Defiantly sounds like a CP and one of us dies is the way to go for each others benefit, as sounds like it saves some fuss, and opens up a world of benefits and less tax to pay for the surviving partner.

Do legal spouses need a POA or is that automatic??

p00hsticks

TonyMMM said:

poppystar said:

TonyMMM said:

p00hsticks said:

 You''ll have to get two other people involved  as witnesses, as apparently you can't just drag people in off the street any more...

You can still have two strangers as witnesses - no issue at all ( in England/Wales at least).

Presumably only if when you drag them off the street they can prove their ID - isn’t that the only reason you can’t grab and drag now? 

Witnesses don't have to prove their ID ( or even give an address).... they just have to be present to hear the couple make their vows and to sign to say that they did that. They don't have to have ever met the couple before, know who they are, or have any connection with them at all.

Thinking back, perhaps what we were actually told (when we went to give notice) was that the registers office itself wouldn't provide witnesses - we'd been hoping that they could just call in a couple of people working in the office for the five minutes or so needed. 

We didn't really want to be hanging around on the day trying to persuade strangers for whom it might have been a talking point, which we definitely didn't want.

So we decided to ask a couple of close friends who we could trust not to let on what we'd done