In a previous Blog I have suggested that the government might just as well do away with marriage and have done with it! This was based on the gradual removal of the benefits of marriage as they used to be such as tax incentives and the indications that people living together would be given the same legal rights.
But maybe politicians won't have to do anything at all? It seems that we are just less and less likely to marry anyway. Indeed recent reports show that we are less likely now to marry than at any time in history since records began. Maybe that is one reason why the divorce rate is lower than for many years!
It worries me, though, that many people live together (or cohabit as Judges seem to call it) partly due to the mistaken belief that there are no legal implicaitons of doing so. Certainly there are various myths about living together; have a look at this link for a couple.
But a living together agreement is essential and can certainly save significant legal costs in later argument.
So, just maybe the politicians are doing nothing as they realise marriage is dying all by itself.
Andrew Woolley
Divorce Solicitor