Back in June, I wrote a blog following the outcome of the Supreme Court case of Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan, a cohabiting couple seeking legal recognition that the current law surrounding Civil Partnerships was discriminatory. Heterosexual couples who do not wish to get married for whatever reason, are not currently afforded the same financial protection as same-sex couples. Their case was successful, and the Supreme Court declared that their human rights had been breached as the Civil Partnership Act applied to same-sex couples only.

Today, the Prime Minister has announced that there will be a change in the law to allow opposite-sex couples the opportunity to enter in to a civil partnership. Theresa May has acknowledged this discrepancy when announcing her plans for change;

“This change in the law helps protect the interests of opposite-sex couples who want to commit, want to formalise their relationship, but don’t necessarily want to get married”.

Whilst this announcement is a step in the right direction for cohabiting couples, no formal timeline for implementation of this change has been confirmed and so celebrations may be put on hold until the government reveals a firm date for the reform.

Written by: Gemma Artus

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