More stories

  • in

    Will civil partnership become the new marriage?

    As I’m sure you will be aware, the first opposite-sex couples to enter into civil partnerships in England and Wales tied the knot on New Year’s Eve (the media has been full of the news). I understand that both Scotland and Northern Ireland will shortly follow suit, but what follows relates primarily to just England […] More

  • in

    Equal civil partnerships law takes effect today

    Another way: civil partnerships law extended to same-sex couples Today scripts a momentous occasion extending the remit of Civil Partnerships law by virtue of the Civil Partnership, Marriages and Deaths (Registration) Act 2019 which now provides by virtue of Section 2 (1): “To persons who are not of the same sex to form a civil […] More

  • in

    Tales and myths of a common-law marriage

    What are the myths of a common-law marriage? Nearly half of people in England and Wales believe that unmarried couples living together have the same rights and obligations as couples who are legally married or who have entered into a civil partnership. However, this could not be further from the truth. This is the myth […] More

  • in

    Transgender man’s marriage invalid

    The law on marriage and gender As we all know, marriages between same-sex couples have been legal since March 2014. Prior to that, the law specifically stated that a marriage between parties who were not respectively male and female was void. But what if a woman underwent gender reassignment surgery, transitioning from female to male, […] More

  • in

    Your Christmas dilemmas solved!

    The festive season is a time for joy and family, but for some people it brings a fair amount of stress too. Relationship coach Shelley Lewin, and Savannah Steinberg, personal mastery specialist, offer solutions for holiday problems. Keeping up with the Joneses ‘My husband and I are spendaholics. We always overspend during the Christmas holidays […] More

  • in

    Paternity fraud between husband and wife: deceit or conduct?

    Paternity fraud I’ve written here previously about the not uncommon scenario whereby a man claims to have been deceived by a mother into believing, incorrectly, that he is the father of her child. The man may then be expected to maintain the child. It seems that the scenario has a name: ‘paternity fraud’. I’ve also […] More

  • in

    Divorce predictors

    7 behaviours you need to stop. Destructive behaviours can tear marriages apart – but it doesn’t have to be that way for yours. Jokingly criticising your partner, being sarcastic or even something as ‘innocent’ as eyeball-rolling may not be as harmless as you thought. Joburg-based couples counsellor and relationship therapist Michael Kallenbach explainshow to stop […] More

  • in

    Is most domestic violence a two-way thing?

    I realise that this post may be considered by many to be controversial, but controversy is not my intention in writing this. My intention is simply to explore a complex and important subject with an open mind. After all, to do otherwise would be to fail to do justice to the subject of domestic violence. […] More