Family Law consultation
Overview
This consultation seeks views on:
- Implementing the Scottish Law Commission's recommendations to improve cohabitants' rights following separation
- Cohabitant's rights where their partner dies without leaving a will
- Whether the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership should be raised from 16 to 18 and on extending the criminal offence of forced marriage or forced civil partnership
- Extending the simplified divorce and dissolution procedures in Scotland to include cases where there are children under 16 and no dispute about their welfare
- On whether there should be qualifying requirements for religious and belief bodies with celebrants who solemnise marriages and register civil partnerships.
Given the scope of this consultation you do not have to complete every section and can focus on only the parts that matter to you.
Read the consultation paper. The consultation paper contains full background information for this consultation. You may find it useful to read or refer to while responding.
Useful information about responding to this consultation
As you complete your response, each page will provide the option to 'Save and come back later' at the bottom. This means you can save your progress and return to the consultation at any time before it closes. If you don't use this feature and leave the consultation midway through, your response will be lost.
Once you have submitted your response, you can enter your email address to get a pdf copy of your answers sent to you.
On the 'About You' page at the end of this consultation, organisations will have the opportunity to tell us more about their work and/or how their response was informed.
After the consultation has closed there will be a few months delay before any responses are published. This is because we must check any responses to be published abide by our Terms of Use.
An analysis report will usually be published some months after the consultation has closed. This report will summarise the findings based on all responses submitted. It will be published on the Scottish Government website and you may be notified about it if you choose to share your email address with us. You can also join our consulation mailing list where we regularly list newly published analysis reports (as well as new consultations).
Why your views matter
Your opinion counts and this consultation will help us reach decisions on the next steps for a number of different pieces of potential legislation that may benefit people across Scotland.
Following the consultation, we will analyse your responses in order to understand the full range of views on our proposals. The Scottish Government will use these responses to form a decision on whether to take forward the various pieces of legislation or not.
Privacy
See our Privacy Note, at the bottom of this page, for information about what you can expect us to do with your personal information when you respond to this consultation.
Give us your views
Interests
- Children and Families
- Equality, Welfare and Rights
- Law and Order
- Main hub
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