Raleys Solicitors

Baroness Deech, a leading UK family lawyer who is also the chairman of the Bar Standards Board is expected to speak this week in a lunchtime lecture about the concept of marriage within English law and whether it is clear, relevant and up-to-date.

Baroness Deech is expected to argue that the English law’s concept of marriage, “the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others” is heavily based on traditional Christian values and that recent changes to family law and conventional family life have made this description less relevant than ever.

The basis of Lady Deech’s argument is that as recently as fifty years ago, homosexuality itself was still illegal whereas nowadays same sex couples have the right to hold civil unions which are closely comprable to marriage, adopt children, be named on the birth certificates of children born through artificial insemination and may soon be allowed to hold civil unions in religious buildings.

The accuracy and relevancy of English law’s concept of marriage has not only be called into question by society’s increasing acceptance of homosexuality, but also by other shifting social attitudes. Whilst same sex civil unions negated the ‘between one man and one woman’ part, relaxing attitudes to adultery have called into question the ‘one‘ part.

Similarly, the fact that few people bat an eyelid about divorce and that it is so easy to obtain these days has rather put a question mark over the ‘lifelong‘ part too. So Baroness Deech’s view that changing family law has resulted in the law’s concept of marriage becoming inaccurate has a pretty sound basis.

Marriage is more different and less practised today than ever before. Attitudes and lifestyles have changed. As Baroness Deech puts it, ” religion is a waning force, women have financial independence, there is state support for lone parents, children are no longer classified as illegitimate, divorce is easy and there is no recrimination over sex and birth outside of wedlock,” so perhaps the legal definition of marriage should come up for review.

You can read the full story here. We’d love to know your views.

Sports relief is a great way for people to do their bit for charity whilst getting involved with fun activities. The funds raised by everyone who raises money for Sports Relief goes to helping the poor in the UK and around the world. In the UK, many of the poorest and most disadvantaged people come from broken homes and have been through the family law system for their entire lives.

You can help them by getting involved and running just 1 mile!

Do your bit, we will be too.

For more information about Sports Relief click here.

Family law is a complex sector of the law encompassing a number of different issues from child custody to divorce to inheritance tax. Some of the issues contained in family law are necessary in order to gain the best outcome for innocent parties, especially when children are involved. However, some of the laws surrounding the family are just plain obvious, and should’t we already be following them as part of our moral code?

This issue has been raised recently because there is a new proposal circulating that the law should force children and grandchildren to care for grandparents. The argument is based on the fact that a high percentage of grandparents will care for their grandchildren and provide financial security for them, especially as mothers as well as fathers are working longer hours. This new law is seen as a way to ensure that grandparents are repaid for their care and not left to suffer in old age. However, shouldn’t’ our morals already be telling us to look after our own parents and grandparents? No person would knowingly allow their elders to suffer financially or emotionally without doing as much as they could to help. And if they do leave them without care, these people are animals.

Although there have been a number of instances where family members kill other family members, most people will automatically care for their parents and grandparents. Do we really need to make it into a law? For more information on this issue why not have a look at this article.