Same-sex Partners Should Each Write a Legal Will
News articles highlight the importance of writing a will in same-sex
relationships
January 15, 2002 -- The same-sex relationship presents
some unique requirements when trying to protect a surviving partner. In December
last year, the great British actor Sir Nigel Hawthorne died at the age of 72; he
had lived with his partner Trevor Bentham for 22 years.
Sir Nigel's property is believed to be worth about £2
million. If he had died without a Will, Trevor would probably have been left
with nothing. "A lot has changed for homosexuals, most of it for the
better. But the law has not changed so much that it protects partners,"
Trevor explained to the Mail on Sunday newspaper.
Sir Nigel and Trevor first decided to write Wills five years
ago when it was found that Trevor had muscular dystrophy. When Sir Nigel
discovered he had a tumour they re-wrote their Wills. Sir Nigel wanted to make
sure his long-term partner could live in their magnificent home for the rest of
his life.
"He (Sir Nigel) realised we had no civil rights as a
couple, not even in common law, even though we'd lived together for so long and
known each other for 32 years." explained Trevor, who has publicly stated
that nothing will tear him away from the house they created together. But as the
Mail on Sunday notes, at least he has the choice "If a partner died many of
us would not have the choice. If you met your maker tomorrow, chances are your
partner would be left high and dry."
This is not unique to the U.K. Last year, the Canadian Charter
of Rights and Freedoms was put to the test when a gay man died without a Will in
Alberta. Brent Johnson, the surviving partner went before the Alberta Court of
Queen' Bench to argue that his rights under the national charter were violated
by the province's Intestate Succession Act -- a law governing inheritance rights
in cases where the deceased did not leave a Will. The law excludes gay and
lesbian couples from the rights married couples have when a spouse dies without
a Will.
The court found that the law breaches the rights guaranteed in
the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and suspended the law for nine months to give
the provincial government a chance to correct the problem by rewriting the act
to include same-sex couples. In his decision, Justice Del Perras said,
"There is differential treatment, as the claimant is denied the right to
access the [Act] based on his sexual orientation," according to the
National Post in Canada.
PartingWishes.com CEO Tim Hewson notes the particular
importance of the Will for same sex couples. "The intestate laws of
succession are complex and vary from country to country, state to state and
province to province. This is why every individual should simply create a Will
to avoid messy legal disputes and the vagaries of local intestate laws. However,
same sex couples receive almost no protection by intestate law, and it makes no
sense to leave the destiny of your estate to chance. By preparing a Will, this
doubt and confusion can be avoided, and your loved ones can be protected. What
is surprising is that many people procrastinate and offer any number of poor
excuses for postponing the creation of their Will when in fact they could have
piece of mind in less than 30 minutes by creating a Will online at
PartingWishes.com."
For more information about creating a Will take a look at the
MyWill™
online Legal Will creation service.
(Reported in 'Mail on Sunday' January 2002 and 'Gay.com'
April 2001)
For More Information Contact:
PartingWishes.com
Email:
support@partingwishes.com
Internet:
http://www.partingwishes.com
