Bookers & Bolton Welcome Plans to Introduce Civil Partnerships for Heterosexual Couples

The government has recently announced that there are plans to extend civil partnerships to all couples in relationships. Currently there are plans to put forward public opinion consultations for marriages to be converted to civil partnerships. There is an aim for all couples to be able to have a civil partnership before the end of 2019. The announcement confirmed:

• Government announces plans for extending civil partnerships to opposite sex couples
• Equalities Office to also seek views on the conversion of marriages to civil partnerships
• Aim for couples to be able to form civil partnerships before end of the year

This follows a government loss last year at the Supreme Court. Judges collectively agreed that it was discriminatory to prevent heterosexual couples having civil partnerships. They ruled that the decision to reject the equality campaigners, Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidanto’s, petition to form a civil partnership, was a breach of their human rights. 

The BBC reported that the couple said, the “legacy of marriage” which “treated women as property for centuries” was not a choice for them.

“We want to raise our children as equal partners and feel that a civil partnership – a modern, symmetrical institution – sets the best example for them”. 

There is a disparity between same-sex and opposite-sex couples, as same sex-couples have the choice of marriage or a civil partnership, whereas opposite-sex couples only have the option of marriage.

If a couple view a marriage in the same way as Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidanto, then this leaves them in a situation of cohabiting, which can leave people in a financially vulnerable situation. 

For all family advice contact Hannah Anderson on 01420 558295.