Tom Quail

The recommendations made by the Scottish Law Commission in its latest report will simplify the law while offering a broader range of outcomes for unmarried couples whose relationships break down.

This area of the law has long been criticised for being outdated, overly complicated, and unrepresentative of the growing numbers of couples in Scotland who choose not to get married, so this report and its recommendations are very welcome.

I think the key takeaways from the report are, firstly, that parties in an unmarried, cohabiting couple could be required to provide short-term financial support for former partners, and that a clearer formula is required for judges to apply to calculate levels of financial support.

At present, the law around financial support for cohabiting couples is unclear, and this report reinforces how important it is to have clear guidance enshrined in law.

Now the report has been published, the recommendations will go to the Scottish Parliament before the Bill is updated, which could take until 2025.

In some countries such as Australia and New Zealand, couples who are cohabitants largely experience the same legal rights as married couples if they have lived together for a certain period of time, and many expected the Scottish Law Commission to advise a similar approach to be taken in Scotland.

However, there are plenty of couples who make the choice not to marry, and it’s important for the law to recognise their decision to do so as much as those who choose to get married. If the law makes the rights the same for unmarried couples, they are effectively eliminating those couples’ choices to be unmarried.

I welcome these findings and believe updated law in this area is vital to better represent how people are living in the modern world.

Tom Quail is head of the family law team at Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP