Wills and Planning for LGBTIQ+

If you and your partner are a same sex couple or have intentions of legally changing your gender in the future, it’s important that you prepare certain legal documents to present along with your new identification or gender recognition certificate (GRC) so that the law recognises you as the same person and on your Will document and marriage or civil partnership certificates for purposes of distributing your estate fairly and as per your wishes.

How will this affect you and your partner?

If your partner is unable to prove that they are legally your power of attorney, beneficiary, or legal spouse, they may have issues accessing your funds or becoming a benefactor of your Will. This may leave them at a financial detriment if they need to pay for your medical bills or care later on and could leave the in debt in the event of your death if they are not updated on your Will with legal documentation to prove their identity.

If you don’t leave a Will, you will die “intestate,” meaning that the state will decide on the distribution of assets and wealth. If there is no legal link between your partner and you based on name or gender changes, then it may be the case that your partner doesn’t inherit anything from you.

Children/minors

Your identity can also cause problems with your children’s care if you don’t make your intentions clear in your Will. If your partner is not the other biological parent of your children and is not declared using their current legal identity on your Will, they may struggle to claim any rights to care for your children. In this case, they may be placed into care while the Courts decide on the best course of action.