House of Lords Approves Mixed-Sex Civil Partnerships!
Opposite-Sex Couples Now Entitled To Civil Partnerships
A Supreme Court ruling that opposite-sex couples should be allowed to have civil partnerships, as well as those in same-sex relationships, was approved in the House of Lords on 5th November — meaning that the first couples will be able to enter mixed-sex civil partnerships on New Years Eve.
5 November 2019 – House of Lords approves
mixed-sex civil partnerships
Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan won their case in June last year after successfully claiming the Civil Partnership Act 2004 is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights because it applied only to same-sex couples. The change in the law will offer them the same protection as married couples.
For many couples the idea of marriage and the traditions that go with it that don’t fit. In modern society couples may not really feel like husband or wife, but partners. A civil partnership is a modern alternative.
The entering into of a civil partnership is a more modern legal union between two people and a relationship that is recognised in the eyes of the law. For couples who don’t want to get married, but have a family and family commitments, entering into a civil partnership ensures they had same rights.
Although this is welcome change in our modern changing society, before couples enter this they need to consider the legal implications if that relationship should end after entering into a civil partnership. As according to recent divorce statistics, 42% of marriages in England and Wales end in divorce. There are of course no figures for dissolution of opposite sex civil partnerships and no official figures for the number of cohabiting couples who separate..
So before getting married or entering into a opposite sex civil partnership a couple prior to marriage or a civil partnership should enter into an agreement to sets out what would happen to their finances in the event of the relationship breaking down or ending in a divorce or dissolution. If you have substantial assets, then for a lot of people it’s perfectly reasonable to take steps to protect those assets in the event of a divorce or separation in the future.
Get in touch today
We can help and advise you about civil partnerships.
Emma Piff, Family Solicitor, Lawson-West Solicitors
Email: epiff@lawson-west.co.uk
As well as qualifying as a solicitor in 2005, talented family law expert Emma is a qualified family mediator, trained Collaborative Lawyer and a Resolution-accredited specialist in domestic abuse and complex financial remedies; she is also a Law Society Family Law Panel member.
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