Siblings are NOT treated as cohabitants under the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010. This Act is the first legal recognition for same sex couples in Ireland, extending ‘spousal’ benefits to gay and lesbian couples in areas of property, social welfare, succession, maintenance, pensions and tax. While it also offers additional rights and
‘Common Law’ spouses & Inheritance issues for unmarried couples, or cohabitant: The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 (“the Act”), in force since 1st January 2011, as obvious from its title introduced the new legal concept of ‘cohabitant’ for those couples living together; It is the first step in protecting
Co-habitation now may lead to legal obligations as the newly enacted Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 (“the Act”), provides protections for cohabiting couples (same sex or opposite sex) including a redress scheme for financially dependent long term cohabitants on the ending of a relationship, whether by break-up or death.
Neither cohabitants or children have any automatic right to a share of the estate of the deceased cohabitant. A cohabitant is not entitled at law to deal with administering the Estate of their cohabitant. There is an exception, where a cohabitant dies intestate, leaving minor children, who are also the children of the surviving cohabitant.