Same-sex couples anticipate gay Xmas with the CPA act |
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Sun, 02 Oct 2005 00:35
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For thousands of same sex couples in the UK, the coming festive season promises to be the most significant as the Civil Partnership Act comes into effect December 21.
From that day onwards gay relationships will be recognised under law and either partner will have the same property rights as married couples. It is also going to alter the way they receive pensions and pay inheritance tax.
Regardless of the many legal benefits by the Act, gay couples seem not to have waited for the law and have been buying properties faster than same-sex couples according to a survey by the country’s legal insurer Zurich Professional.
Zurich’s figures show that the number of homosexual couples buying homes together has grown faster in the past five years compared to normal heterosexual couples and singles buying houses. The study was based on the list of solicitors’ conveyancing clients. Over 50 percent of solicitors said they saw a significant rise in the number of same-sex clients who sought their converyancing services.
The fact that the CPA will offer financial safety now could further raise the number of same-sex couples investing in properties together, if the housing market improves in the coming months.
With the law recognising their relationship, same-sex clients will no more hesitate to reveal that they are ‘married’, a lawyer said.
Gay couples are likely to celebrate coming Christmas with champagne and flowers besides exchanging rings and prenup agreements. Lawyers will also have added reason to celebrate as this new niche grows.
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