Post
by macliam » Mon Oct 17 2022 12:13pm
This was a primary driver for the push towards recognition of Gay partnerships, as couples who had been together for decades had no inheritance rights to their partner's estate or even to jointly-owned assets. Even now, some people (eg siblings) are excluded under UK law.
In Portugal, there evolved a simple constitutional rule after the 1974 revolution, that says that a couple who can prove they have been together over 2 years can claim certain rights - this is called "de facto union".
The term was introduced for in 1999, combining several partial protections granted previously and dating back to 1976. It was extended to same-sex couples in 2001 - and, on the same day, a law on "economia comum" (common economy) was also implemented, granting protection to two or more persons that live together - with most of the rights of the de facto union, except welfare benefits.
Same-sex marriage (legalized in 2010) grants no further legal rights, so "de facto unions" rather than any more formal recognition, remain the alternative to any couple (same-sex or opposite-sex) who do not wish to marry.
However, the Portuguese inheritance rules are far more strict, granting rights to any heirs BEFORE the death of the parent.... such that the parent cannot sell certain assets without the agreement of all recognized heirs. It is also virtually impossible to disinherit legal heirs, or to vary the fractions of an estate payable to any one individual.
The formula for inheritance there is that the legal spouse gets 50% of the estate, and shares the other 50% equally with all other heirs (children of a deceased heir retaining their right to their parent's share). Thus, when my FiL died, his spouse got 62.5%, SWMBO and her surviving brother 12.5% and the 2 children of their late brother 6.25% each.....
Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get me