Civil partnership bill : What the new legislation will mean in practice
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- It gives gay and lesbian couples the right to have their relationships legally recognised.
- They will be entitled to seek maintenance (financial support) from each other.
- If one partner dies or the relationship breaks up, the remaining partner will be entitled for the first time to make a claim on the estate or seek financial support.
- But while one partner may be raising children from a previous relationship, there is no legal recognition of the child's relationship with the other partner. Civil partners will not be able to jointly adopt children.
- There will also new protections in the bill for co-habiting couples of the same or opposite sex. If they are living together for three years (two if they have children), they can seek maintenance or inheritance rights if their relationship ends or if one of them dies.
- Same sex marriages abroad will be recognised in Ireland as civil partnerships. Civil partnerships can be ended with a legally enforceable separation agreement.
Irish Independent
