Discrimination?

Here in Sweden, even if a will is made, the the children automatically have their share of the estate, they are never left out.
If a couple are living together, unmarried, previously divorced, and one dies, without leaving a will, then the children, say from a previous marriage, get everything, the person left behind gets nothing, so no security if things arent written down, the partner can basically be homeless, if children dont approve! But still not an excuse to get married, most people here live together!

DS2 and his partner have been together for 22 years and have two lovely sons. They have made wills and have joint ownership and mortgage. I don't know why they are so averse to marriage, but since they both come from broken families, that may have set an example that they don't want to follow. I have been divorced for almost 30 years and wouldn't want to go through that again.
Marriage should not be 'encouraged' by the taxation system - the more marriage, the more divorce. If I'd been a solicitor I'd have been very well off by now!

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_solidarity_pact

Here's what the French do and have for years - very sensible suggestion. So there's a declaration of being together without it being marriage or a civil partnership - in some areas you can have a sort of ceremony but the people I know who've done this haven't bothered. The continuing irritation for me is that the DWP seems to have no problem in deciding people are a couple for some benefit purposes (because that will save the state money) but the same couple after death of one of them would not have their relationship recognised for IHT or survivors benefits (because that would cost the state money) .How in a thousand years is that fair? BTW Elegran what have hospitals to do with any of this?

annodomini exactly what I am trying to say.
I'm not averse to marriage, we have been married for almost 36 yrs.
The longest in our 'living' family.
My cousins are either divorced or single.
Quite different to my GPs and their siblings generation who celebrated golden weddings.
Times have changed
We now no longer have couples living in sin
Or heaven for bid their DC labelled B*****ds.

Elegran perhaps lower the tax threshold for those living at same address with children
They would be paying joint mortgages or rent.

That is one good idea, Cherrytree There must be others too.
Rigby, yes, whatever system is used, it should work across the board. Hospitals because of the mention of next of kin, though people are generally asked on admittance who is NOK. What happens when they are admitted unconscious or unable to answer that question? Would a spouse be the default?

Diddy interesting post.
Especially pointing out that most swedes do not marry but live together.

Rigby I had heard something re the french system about going to see the mayor to make a declaration.
I agree very sensible.
Also agree that the benefit system also manages to decide whether or not individuals are a couple.

So perhaps employ the same benefit criteria to the marriage allowance.

At hospital admittance, if competent to give consent, you can choose anyone to be your next of kin but whilst you remain competent, you make all the decisions about your treatment. If you lose competency during your stay or are not competent on admission, no one I can consent to treatment on your behalf. The law is quite quite clear - the doctor has to act in your behalf in your best interests but would be expected to discuss issues with any named NOK. If no named NOK, common sense would prevail but it would still be the doctors call. And that is why we should all have LPAs for health and welfare - I've given instructions and preferences on mine ( 2 different categories on form) about what I want in various situations

In training sessions with medical staff of all types and grades I have been known to put my head on pthe table and sob be a trifle preturned at their lack of understanding of NOK and/ or consent and competency issued

Elegran how does the taxman know anything about anyone? Because of the forms they fill in. The negligible amount that might/might not be collected from a couple who say they are co-habiting, when they aren't, is as nothing to the amount that wily accountants wangle for businesses. This whole issue is nothing to do with money but is purely a way of assuring Tory heartlands that the party is still the party of the establishment and that they still believe in marriage, in spite of the rocketing divorce figures.
This legislation links in with the abolition of the "no blame divorce". Both are fairly useless and create complications but imply that there is some sort of moral code in this government.

Preturned = perturbed - flipping phone

Everyone should have one of these LPAs, as well as make a will. If the question arises, they might also throw light on who are or are not committed couples, if the other half is mentioned on them.

The whole subject area of benefits and taxation policies as instruments of social policy and social engineering is fascinating . A society's values system can be inferred from much of this

My daughter, her father's only child, was banned from seeing him for his last few months and at the chapel of rest when he died because his wife and step daughter didn't want her there, (no logical reasons!) the undertaker had to go along with it because there is no legal order to next of kin and they were paying the bill. They even tried to ban her from the funeral but failed because the crematorium is a public building.