What is the point of civil partnerships?

[blythburgh]

From today anyone can have a civil partnership. The reasons given for wanting one as opposed to getting married do not make sense to me.

1) Marriage is patriarchal as the Father gives away the bride. But you can change the wording in a church service or have a civil service in which you can write the whole script.

2) Do not want all the fuss of a wedding. The niece of 'im indoors got married with just her parents as witnesses. His Mum, who they got on with, and his brother and sister knew nothing about the impending ceremony. We have friends and former neighbours who got witnesses from people in the street. Cheap and the wedding they wanted.

So what is the point of civil partnerships now we have same sex marriage? But it is now legal and if told about one I would congratulate the couple with no questions asked.

[Richard Frost]

No point at all except it gives the participants peace of mind.

[Chadwick]

I had always thought it was the same as a registry office wedding, but apparently there is a subtle difference in the rights it confers.

[expressman33]

https://www.first4lawyers.com/news-and- ... rtnership/

In terms of officially committing to spending your life with your partner, there aren’t many significant differences between marriage and civil partnership.

However, some do exist.

A marriage certificate requires just the names of both partners’ fathers, while a civil partnership certificate requires the names of both parents
Civil partners cannot call themselves ‘married’ for legal purposes
A marriage is ended with divorce by obtaining a decree absolute, while a civil partnership is ended with dissolution by obtaining a dissolution order
Adultery is not a valid reason to dissolve a civil partnership, but it can be used to divorce

[oldboy]

If you forget all the wanting to be together stuff, Civil partnerships give the same legal/financial rights to those living over the broom as any married couple.

[BeautifulSunshine]

What about a married man with kids and he also has a girlfriend with kids - where does he and she stand legally and financially?

[oldboy]

What about a married man with kids and he also has a girlfriend with kids - where does he and she stand legally and financially?

The legal situation of any civil partnership gives the new family unit the same rights under law as marriage. Up until yesterday there was little legal right to ownership of one partner "stuff" in the event of death (one of the multiple reasons civil partnership coming into force in same sex family units), The children of both previous coupling (I believe) also gain these rights as they now form an "in law" family unit.

[blythburgh]

Above all what I want ended is common law marriage. It cannot be ended by Parliament as it only exists in the minds of Joe Public. If you are did not marry or enter a civil partnership the man has far less rights of access to his children if the couple break up. If one dies you do not have the inheritance rights of a legal couple. You are not the in a legal relationship you are not the next of kin and family can take over that role in a hospital and decide the future of the patient if they are unable to make decisions. Funerals can be arranged in the way the family want rather than the way the partner wants.

No idea why so many cohabiting couples think they have common law rights when they have none but an awful lot of them do.

[BeautifulSunshine]

So if you are after the money then do it the legal way.

[oldboy]

AAA I think you've over simplified, yes money can be an import part of an in law "legal partnership" rather than that of an over the broom relationship, but having the bit of paper that proves a relationship confers other rights.
Playing on the examples of blythburgh, if a partner in a couple was ill and unable to communicate, the partner of the legally bonded couple would be recognised as next of kin with all rights conferred. The partner in the unrecognised (by law) partnership may have no rights even if he/she had x amount of children, and had been together for 50 years. Conclusion, its not time, children, love, commitment, money or the investment of all these things together that makes a legal partnership. Its only a bit of paper witnessed by a register, signed by the partners and witnesses, then stamped.
The wedding bit of a marriage/civil partnership is basically the romantic unimportant bit (in Law) just that stamped bit of paper. Just like any business partnership.