Announcement

Call us on: 0800 953 1202

Services for individuals

These are the issues that affect you or your family.

Please select the area of Personal Law:

Please select the legal issue required:

Services for business

These are the issues that affect your business.

Please select the area of Business Law:

Please select the legal issue required:

Marriage

Legal Knowledge (3)>Family (0)>Marriage (5)

About this section

Marriage is the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex, as their husband or wife, in a consensual and contractual relationship recognised by law. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding.

The following section will explain the process of getting married and outline the opportunities available for couples planning a ceremony.

The Facts...

There has been a long-term decline in the number of marriages in the UK since 1972
Over the past few decades people have tended to marry later in life; The average age for first marriages in England and Wales is 31 for men and 29 for women
The average age for marriage 40 years ago was 25 for men and 23 for women
Since 1992, there have been more civil marriage ceremonies in England and Wales than religious ceremonies
The Marriage Act 1836 and the Registration Act 1836 came into force in 1837 in England and Wales and provided the statutory basis for regulating and recording marriages
According to a survey by the website 'married or not', 61% of people believe that cohabiting couples have the same rights as those who are married or in civil partnerships
70% of first partnerships in Britain are cohabitations.
In England, the legal age to get married is 18, or 16 with parental consent - the same as in Northern Ireland but in Scotland you must be 16

Articles in this Category

02/12/2008	FAQs - Marriage
	Frequently asked questions - marriage
	Read More >>>

02/12/2008	Cohabitation
	Cohabitation - your rights
	Read More >>>

02/12/2008	Marrying a Non UK National
	The UK immigration laws in relation to marriage explained
	Read More >>>

02/12/2008	Notice of Marriage
	What does notice of marriage mean and what's involved?
	Read More >>>

26/11/2008	Places you can get married
	Your guide to wedding location options
	Read More >>>

UKLA Direct is a trading name of TLA Direct Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (Company Number 06643412) whose registered office is Pegasus House, 463A Glossop Road, Sheffield, S10 2QD. TLA Direct is regulated by the Ministry of Justice in respect of regulated claims management activities. It's registration is recorded on the website www.claimsregulation.gov.uk CRM14556. In the event that you instruct a UKLA solicitor following introduction through this service, the solicitor may pay a fee, dependant on the type of work, to TLA Direct for marketing and administration services. This fee may either be a fixed amount, a percentage of up to 15% of the fees billed by the solicitor or nothing. In no circumstances will this fee be added to your quote/bill. Your solicitor will advise you of any such fee in their letter of instruction.