From 10th December same sex couples will be able to convert their civil partnerships into marriages at registry offices in England and Wales. Not only will these couple be issued with a full marriage certificate but, the marriage certificate can also be back-dated to the start of the civil partnership.
This is great news for couples who would have preferred marriage to a civil partnership, before the same sex marriage laws came into place.
When it comes to divorce, the length of the union is taking into account when dividing financial assets. If one spouse has generated a lot of money while the other spouse took on a supporting role for many years, then the supporting spouse will still have a right to some of the finances generated in the marriage, as they were not able to further their career.
Whether a same sex couple chooses to back date their marriage certificate or not won’t make any difference if the couple then split. The length of the union will be taken from the date of the original civil partnership, with or without a backdated marriage certificate.
The length of the marriage is only one of many factors that determine the splitting of financial assets after a divorce.