Valentine’s Day: Five Legal Points To Consider Before Popping The Question!
Valentine’s Day is often associated with love, romance, and grand gestures, but for many, it is also a time of reflection on relationships—both their strengths and their struggles. For couples planning to tie the knot, Valentine’s Day may serve as a romantic backdrop for a proposal. However, before saying “I do”, it is essential to understand the legal effects of an engagement and subsequent marriage. Here are 5 key points to consider:
What rights do engaged couples have?
Being engaged does not provide the same rights as married couples and indeed, for most they are treated the same as cohabiting couples or those simply dating. However, in respect of property a formerly engaged party can potentially claim a beneficial interest (or an enhanced share) in a property if they have contributed money or money’s worth.
Who keeps the ring if the engagement is called off?
Generally, an absolute gift belongs to the recipient and the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1970 confirms that the engagement ring is to be an absolute gift unless it can be proved “the ring was given on the condition, express or implied, that it should be returned if the marriage did not take place for any reason”. In practice, this may be because the ring was a heirloom but this is not a common theme in proposals but it would need to be proved that the proposal was conditional.
Do you plan to have children?
Married parents automatically share parental responsibility whilst an unmarried father can only obtain parental responsibility if he is named on the birth certificate or via a Court Order or Parental Responsibility Agreement.
Do you have assets you wish to protect?
You may want to consider having a prenuptial or pre-civil partnership agreement in order to protect pre-acquired assets or family assets/inheritance. The agreement will set out what you intend to happen to your finances in the event the marriage broke down and can help clarify financial expectations.
What are the alternatives to marriage?
You can formalise your relationship by way of civil partnership (which is applicable for same sex and opposite couples) or cohabitation. If you are in or considering a polyamorous relationship then a marriage or civil partnership would not apply as that can only take place between two people. Any person in the relationship which is not in a marriage or civil partnership with one other person would have limited rights if the relationship ended, same as unmarried partners.
Civil partnership – this is a formal legal relationship between same sex-couples or heterosexual partners who will acquire the same status as married couples. The difference is that marriage can have religious connotations and some people prefer not to ‘marry’ but still want a legally recognised union. You can find more information on our article.
Cohabitation – many people do not wish to marry but some still believe that a long term cohabiting relationship creates the same rights as married couples (‘common law marriage’) which is not true. A cohabitation agreement can outline financial arrangements and responsibilities for the duration of the relationship, and what might happen if the relationship ends.
If you need specialist legal advice, call our highly experienced family law solicitors on 0330 822 3451 who will be able to assist. Alternatively, you can request a call back or get in touch online.