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Have you thought about the legal implications of your marriage? Karen Newman highlights important issues to address before the big event!

Will the family home be protected?

The major asset of married couples is usually their home. For each spouse, this represents both a roof over his or her head and a capital investment. In order to ensure that you are both involved in the discussions and any agreement as to any steps that are to be taken in relation to the home, such as selling it or re-mortgaging it, it is important that you obtain advice in relation to your personal circumstances to ensure that both of you have a say in relation to any dealings of your home. You also may wish to ensure that should either spouse die before the other, the surviving spouse is entitled to remain in the home. If a property is in the sole name of one spouse, the property may not pass to the surviving spouse and even if the property is in both spouses' names, it is important to ensure that the home has been registered at the Land Registry correctly to ensure that on the death of one spouse it will pass automatically to the surviving spouse.

We already have Wills, is there any need to change them?

It is important to realise the effect which marriage itself may have on an earlier Will by a spouse. A Will is revoked by the marriage of the spouse who made the Will. However, this rule does not apply if the Will was made in contemplation of marriage and the spouse who makes the Will intends that the Will should not be revoked by the marriage.

What is the situation regarding existing children?

In today’s modern society couples often live together and start a family before saying, “I do” in a marriage ceremony! Couples entering into marriage with children may wish to consider whether it is appropriate to make provision in a Will for the appointment of a Guardian for the children of the family. The appointment of the Guardian would only take effect when there is no living parent with Parental Responsibility.

What is Parental Responsibility? (PR)

PR is defined as “all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority, which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property”, for example the child’s name, medical treatment, religion and education.

Who has PR?

There is a wide variety of people who may acquire PR for a child in different ways. For example:

• PR is conferred automatically on the mother of the child, irrespective of her marital status.
• If the father was married to the mother at the time of the child’s birth, the father will automatically acquire PR.
• If the father was not married to the mother at the time of the child’s birth then the father may acquire PR by agreement with the mother, or by Order of the Court, or by obtaining a Residence Order, or by marrying the mother any time after the child’s birth up until the child reaches 18. From 1st December 2003 unmarried fathers can acquire PR by being registered as the child’s father on the child’s Birth Certificate.

Is there a limit on the number of people who can have PR for a child?

There is no limit on the number of people who can have PR for a child at any one time. A person does not lose PR merely because someone else acquires it.

I’m about to become a step-parent – will I have PR for my spouse’s children?

A step-parent does not obtain PR automatically by virtue of marriage to the child’s natural parent. A step-parent has to acquire it legally. However, a person may arrange for some part or all of that responsibility to be met by one or more other persons, such as step-parents and for example schools, churches, clubs and activity centres. The exercise of PR in such circumstances will often be qualified in some way by agreement between the parents and those bodies.

As a step-parent, how do I acquire PR?

Step-parents may acquire PR by one of the following ways:

• By the making of a Residence Order in his or her favour. PR shall be retained for as long as the Order remains in force.
• By the making of an Adoption Order in his or her favour.
• When the Adoption and Children Act 2002 comes into force, step-parents will be permitted to acquire PR for a child of his or her spouse either by agreement between the step-parent and the parent with PR for the child, or by Order of the Court. This provides an alternative to adoption where a step-parent wishes to acquire PR for his or her step-child.

As a step-parent will I be responsible for the maintenance of my spouse's child or children?

It depends! A step-parent will be responsible for the maintenance of a child insofar as the step-parent is a party to the marriage in relation to which the child concerned has been treated as a "child of the family". As to whether a child is a child of the family will depend on a family's personal circumstances. However, it is important to remember that a step-parent will be responsible for the maintenance of a child who is regarded as a child of the family, irrespective of whether the step-parent has PR or not.

Should I sign a Pre-Nuptial Agreement?

A Pre-Nuptial Agreement is a Contract made by a couple prior to the marriage, which sets out the distribution of the couple’s income, capital, assets and any inheritance acquired before and during the marriage, if they separate or divorce. Some couples prefer to plan for such an eventuality rather than leave it to an unknown Judge to make a decision.

Further advice and assistance in relation to the above issues can be provided at an initial consultation with Karen Newman, a Family Law Solicitor at Colemans Solicitors, 21 Marlow Road,