Post by Alaisdir Ua Séaghdha on Jan 19, 2024 14:08:42 GMT
The pushing of two very pointless referenda by the government seems to show how far they are prepared to go to placate the chatterati and also how little thought is going into the proposal. The phrase "other durable relationship" seems to allow for both bigamous or polyamorous relationship.
I'll give you an example. There are several cases were widows or widowers find new boyfriends or girlfriends (often both are widowed) but don't marry. The reason why is that the adult children of one or both don't want their inheritance rights compromised by a marriage. Just to explain the law, a surviving spouse will inherit two thirds the property if their spouse dies intestate and must be left at least one third the property in the will. I am not sure if prenuptial agreements are enforceable, I expect not and though in practice, most second spouses should respect their deceased spouse's wishes in regard to their children's succession, this is not guaranteed. Any surviving spouse may challenged a will from which they have been excluded and this can include a young Far Eastern model found by her wealthy octogenarian husband on a dating site just weeks before he died. Actually, marriage nullifies any will previously made, so if the spouse hasn't made a new one, the widow(er) will take two thirds the property.
So now, we have a new dynamic. Suppose a widower takes up with a new girlfriend but doesn't marry her out of concern for his adult children's inheritance but they are an established couple for about a decade prior to his death (whether or not they are domestic partners is immaterial here). Can she challenge the will following his death on the basis she was in an "other durable relationship" with him?
This is one of the questions we need to address, but it's a bit academic on my part to bring it up as I am going to vote no anyway.
I'll give you an example. There are several cases were widows or widowers find new boyfriends or girlfriends (often both are widowed) but don't marry. The reason why is that the adult children of one or both don't want their inheritance rights compromised by a marriage. Just to explain the law, a surviving spouse will inherit two thirds the property if their spouse dies intestate and must be left at least one third the property in the will. I am not sure if prenuptial agreements are enforceable, I expect not and though in practice, most second spouses should respect their deceased spouse's wishes in regard to their children's succession, this is not guaranteed. Any surviving spouse may challenged a will from which they have been excluded and this can include a young Far Eastern model found by her wealthy octogenarian husband on a dating site just weeks before he died. Actually, marriage nullifies any will previously made, so if the spouse hasn't made a new one, the widow(er) will take two thirds the property.
So now, we have a new dynamic. Suppose a widower takes up with a new girlfriend but doesn't marry her out of concern for his adult children's inheritance but they are an established couple for about a decade prior to his death (whether or not they are domestic partners is immaterial here). Can she challenge the will following his death on the basis she was in an "other durable relationship" with him?
This is one of the questions we need to address, but it's a bit academic on my part to bring it up as I am going to vote no anyway.