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Government Civil Partnerships uncovers 'Marry' is really for money not love?
FROM 5 December this year, the law will be changed so as to allow
same sex couples to enjoy the same legal rights as married couples
in matters such as pension and tax rights. But while the Civil
Partnership Act is often talked of as legitimising 'gay marriage',
the new law will in fact allow platonic friends to register as civil
partners, says ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified
Accountants) has reap the same financial gains.
John Davies, Head of Business Law at ACCA said:- "The Act has
been widely welcomed as a measure which provides fair and equal
treatment to homosexual couples in established long-term
relationships. But it also opens the door for a quite different use
to be made of the new rights, something which may not have been
intended by the Government. It means that 2 people of the same
sex could enter into a civil partnership just to take advantage of
pension rights, life assurance and inheritance transfers,
particularly since, to form a civil partnership, the partners do not
have to prove a physical relationship nor have to reside under the
same roof."
Civil Partnership will enable partners to enjoy most of the same
state pension rights as husbands and wives and the same entitlement
to a survivor's pension from an occupational or private scheme as is
enjoyed by a widow or widower. They will also be entitled to the
same tax benefits as a married couple in that they will be able to
transfer property and gifts, no matter how large, without incurring
inheritance tax. They will also be able to take advantage of their
partner's capital gains allowance.
John Davies adds:- "Conceivably, the civil partnership could
be taken up to the advantage of, say, an older pair of same sex
friends who currently live together, but do not jointly own the
property they live in. Thus, upon the death of one of the partners,
the house could be transferred to the spouse without incurring any
inheritance tax liabilities. Both partners would also have a stake
in the other partner's pension rights." |
AN
INN'S
BIRTHDAY HISTORY BOOK
A Southport inn is celebrating its birthday with a look back at
its past and is asking locals to join in by contributing to a
history scrapbook. Landlady, Katy Bibby from the Hesketh Arms
on Botanic Road, is looking to compose a scrapbook of photos, press
cuttings and stories written by guests about the inn.
She has already started off the scrapbook with newspaper cuttings
from the past year since it re-opened and is now inviting guests to
add their own photos taken at the inn, or write stories about events
which happened there for others to read.
Katy explained:- "We are celebrating our first birthday after
the re-opening and I thought the book would be a great way of
marking that. It is one of the oldest buildings in the area
dating back to 1792 and a real landmark, so I'm sure people can add
plenty of history to our scrapbook. Once guests have written
their contributions, I will choose the best one and invite them back
for a complimentary meal for 2 and bottle of wine for their
efforts".
CALDAY GRANGE GOES
THROUGH TO BAR NATIONAL MOCK TRIAL FINAL
CALDAY Grange has won the
Liverpool Regional Heat of the Bar National Mock Trial Competition.
The winning team will join 15 other schools selected from across the
UK to compete for first prize at the final on March 11 2006 in
London.
The regional competition, organised by the Bar Council and the
Citizenship Foundation, took place at Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts,
on Saturday 19 November. Students played the parts of barristers,
witnesses, court staff and jurors, while teams from 12 schools
competed against one another in mock trials, judged by real-life
circuit judges.
Students had to be prepared to defend and prosecute 2 fictional
cases:- one was a safety at work case and the other an assault. The
cases, as far as possible, were created accurately to reflect the
law and trial procedure of the criminal justice system.
Good luck Calday from all of us at
Southport Reporter. |
