Couples who are living together should have more legal rights, according to a report from the Law Commission. It says the current law is "unjust" and the 2.2m co-habiting couples in England and Wales should have more protection if they split up.
Hang on a minute here. If couples who live together want more legal rights why don't they get married? There's nothing special about marriage; strip out all the religious fluff, white flouncy dresses and embarrassing speeches by half-cut fathers of the bride and what it is is simply a contract between two individuals conferring financial rights and obligations on both parties. You want to take advantage of those rights, nip down to the registry office with sixty quid and two witnesses, job done. You don't want those rights, you don't.
Me and Mrs Dracunculus didn't want those rights, don't need them. We own the house 50/50, have enduring power of attorney agreements in place and lodged with our solicitors and the death in service benefits are crossed signed to each other. Why are we now going to be forced into a set of legally binding financial arrangements based simply on the fact that we've lived under the same roof for a set period of time?
And just who are the Law Commission? Turns out that they are a bunch of lawyers and solicitors who will, of course, clean up when they get to represent cohabiting couples in the courts when their relationships go down the toilet. Anyone spot a conflict of interest here?
1 comment:
This time, we're in perfect agreement (well, apart from the religious fluff bit - but granted, the religion and the legal rights are two different issues, and you can have the latter without the former).
Especially now the law allows for civil partnerships for homosexuals, there is absolutely no reason to give additional legal rights to couples who choose not to formalise their relationship, and very good reasons for saying their deliberate choice NOT to give each other automatic legal rights over their property should be respected.
Post a Comment