Back Dated Marriage Certificates For Same Sex Couples

It was not so long ago that the issue over same sex marriages featured in the newspaper headlines almost on a daily basis. Now that same sex marriages are legal and the furore appears to have died down, one particular vexing issue has remained and that is how can a couple, who had previously entered into a civil partnership, now legally, marry? Without the appropriate legislation, the only way would have been for the couple to dissolve their partnership (akin to a divorce) so that they were then free to legally marry! After much consultation the Government Equalities Office has confirmed that the problem will be addressed by a full back dated marriage certificate being issued to same sex couples and that these will be available from 10th December 2014. The marriage certificate will look a little different as it will show for "when married" as being the date of the civil partnership and there will also be a section for the date when the civil partnership was converted in to a marriage. The governments thinking behind this is that on the one part to acknowledge that the marriage is to be treated as having existed since the date of the original civil partnership but also to avoid any confusion as to how a same sex marriage could have existed prior to the date when same sex marriages were legalised in England and Wales. For further information please contact Lindsey Canning at [email protected] or call 0114 266 6660.