Civil Partnerships

• Posted onMarch 2, 2017

You may, like me, sometimes wonder whether our increasingly dystopian world is in fact a dream, from which we shall awake. However, as this doesn’t appear to be the case, I do find myself looking for diversions from The Atrocity Exhibition. One such has been viewing, with both bemusement and exasperation, the recent case concerning heterosexual couples seeking civil partnership status – a “marriage lite” if you will.

I know we have written here before about this issue, but this case – last week described as both “timewasting” and “tiresome” – is certainly zeitgeisty. It has brought the discrepancy between the rights on separation of married and unmarried straight couples into sharp relief, leading to calls, in certain quarters, for a change in the law, much as the recent “locked in” marriage case has provoked renewed calls for “no  fault” divorce.

One fears that these calls – no matter how loud – will fall on deaf politicians’ ears and any changes in the law are about as likely as Cameron Diaz ever making a half decent film again. The fact is that divorce reform and unmarried straight couples attaining parity with their wed counterparts quite simply are not “sexy” in political terms – there’s no vote catching in them. So, for the moment, family lawyers will just have to continue telling their unmarried, separating clients – by which time it’s usually too late – that their legal position just isn’t the same as their married or civil partnership counterparts. Meanwhile back to Dystopia…..

You can read more articles on the recent news of Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan loosing their battle for a civil partnership by clicking here.

For further information on Civil Partnerships, Marriage and other Family Law issues please contact one of our Family Law Solicitors by clicking here.