Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006
Heralds Changes for Cohabiting Couples

The new Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 came into force on the 4 May 2006 and, as expected, has changed the mechanics of getting divorced through adultery, unreasonable behaviour, living apart for a period of one year with your spouse's consent and living apart from your spouse for two years without consent.

One of the more radical changes, however, and which has not had quite the same publicity, is the rights of those people who live together either as husband and wife or as civil partners and then break up. 

In such circumstances, there is now a possibility of a claim for a capital sum at the end of their relationship and there is also a presumption of a share in the ownership of household goods bought whilst they were together.  If a cohabitant dies, without leaving a Will, then the court can make an award to their partner out of the deceased's estate. 

We shall have to see how these new rules will apply in practice, and it is anticipated that it may take a long period of time before cases work through the system and we begin to get a feel for what the courts might do in particular sets of circumstances