There has been a focus on changes to our wedding laws in 2022. It is widely reported and known that the number of people entering into marriages across England and Wales has reduced with more couples focused on a cohabiting relationship.
The first change was to increase the age that a person could marry from 16 to 18. It was previously possible for those aged 16 and 17 to marry with the consent of their parents or guardians. This will be removed from February 2023 in an attempt to stop forced marriages at a young age. It will now only be possible for persons to marry from age 18.
A second change has been proposed by the Law Commission is in respect of how weddings take place. With less people being inclined to marry nowadays, there has been some pressure on the government to focus on making the current weddings law more inclusive and to provide certainty.
Our current law stipulates that a person must choose between a civil wedding and a religious wedding. What satisfies a religious wedding is then broken down depending on the religion.
The proposed changes are to provide uniformity no matter which type of wedding you choose.
The first proposal is at the planning stage of the ceremony. There will be a requirement that notice of the intention to marry is provided publicly – this could be done online or in person and both would need to be interviewed by a registration officer to ensure that neither are being forced to marry. The couple would then need to wait a period of at least 28 days after giving notice before they are able to marry.
The persons intending to marry would also need to be in England and Wales for a period of at least 5 days prior to the ceremony.
There are additional preliminary requirements for Anglican weddings.
It is proposed that there be an “Officiant” who ensures that the legal requirements regulations are complied with. This would be a movement from the current position which is that the building would need to be authorised to carry out weddings. It would therefore be possible to marry in any location provided that there is an Officiant.
It is also proposed that each wedding ceremony have the same one essential requirement (how this is done will be specific to the persons and would need to be agreed with the Officiant); an expression of consent.
You may be wondering why the changes to marriage laws are important to a divorce lawyer. This is because there can be occasions whereby we have to assess whether we think a marriage is a valid one before any later divorce proceedings can commence. It can be the case whereby one party (usually the wealthier one) may attempt to suggest that the marriage is invalid, simply so as to avoid financial claims being made against them (or to limit these claims).
If you would like to speak to someone in our family team, please call 0191 2322574 /01642 356500,
