Proposed law regarding cohabitees and intestacy.

[marantha]

Hello to dadsnet,
I'm female but wanted to get a male perspective regarding the law commission's proposed laws regarding cohabitees and intestacy i.e. the proposal that states that cohabitees should automatically inherit if their partner were to die.
I view such laws (indeed ANY laws regarding cohabitation) as an infringement regarding the right NOT to be tied legally to another adult just because of a sexual relationship under one roof.
I understand that marriage is a very different beast because a legal contract has been made- so, yes, if a person has signed up to marriage they ARE accountable should one of them decide to break the relationship off. I appreciate this, however, cohabitation is not marriage.
I have been slated by other women for seeing it this way- a MALE perspective would be interesting as regards this subject.

Hi, sorry for butting in on Dadsnet as I am quite clearly not a Dad.

But: if you view the Law Commission proposal as "an infringement regarding the right NOT to be tied legally to another adult just because of a sexual relationship under one roof," why don't you just make a Will?

Surely all responsible parents should make a Will anyway? In fact, why not make it a legal requirement, when you register the birth of your child, that you have to make a Will within, say, six months? That way everyone's "rights" are protected.

I just don't see why people are getting so steamed up over this, when it needn't affect them if they simply make a Will!

Not making a Will, in the assumption that your children will inherit everything, is incredibly selfish, as your poor children will have to deal with the practicalities of you dying intestate - it's much more complicated and time-consuming, and if you want them (or anyone else to inherit), why not just say so and make it as simple as possible for them after you've gone?

I have personal experience of this.

MummyDragon, I am not a cohabitee but these proposals could infringe upon friends of mine who ARE cohabiting.
I agree with your proposal that people should make wills but they do not always do so.
I believe that if a married person dies intestate their spouse becomes the inheritor of their estate by default (up to a certain amount, I believe).
As cohabitees often die intestate (hey, so do the married!), the proposals would cover those who may very well have wished their cohabitee to inherit their important assets, trouble is not every cohabitee would wish this to happen and they would be disadvantaged by these new proposals.
I agree that the best thing to do would to make a will.
I suppose my question is: Should a section of society be disadvantaged in a way that they do not wish just because those that DO wish their cohabitee to inherit their worldly goods can't be bothered to make a will?