Fact one:
In England and Wales, there is a common misunderstanding that a religious marriage is legally recognised. Whereas that is the case for Christian marriages, other religious marriages will not be recognised unless the parties undergo a civil marriage too. This includes Jewish, Islamic and Hindu marriages. In such cases, the parties are deemed to be cohabitees.
According to the Office for National Statistics, there were around 3.6 million cohabiting couples in the UK in 2021. This is an increase from 1.5 million in 1996. This includes people who have undergone a non Christian religious marriage but not a civil marriage in England and Wales.
Fact two:
Many cohabiting parties think that if they live together for a certain period, they automatically acquire the rights of a “common law husband and wife”. In reality, there is no such thing as “common law husband and wife”. This means there is little protection for cohabiting couples and their children from financial hardship in the event of separation.
Family lawyers have been campaigning to reform this area of law but the Government are unwilling to look at this topic until their review of the law of marriage and divorce has concluded. Until then cohabiting parties whose relationship has broken down are in a vulnerable position.
Until the law is reformed in this area, it is even more important that former cohabiting parties have a forum where they can speak confidentially with each other to try with an impartial Mediator present to help them find a way forward regarding their children and finances, with minimum costs and in a timely fashion. Mediation is available to both married and unmarried couples and is worth considering in such cases.
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