Marriage in Scotland
Encyclopedia
Marriage in Scotland is between a man and a woman. Civil partnerships
became available to same-sex couples in December 2005 and grant rights and responsibilities identical to civil marriage.
The marriageable age
is 16. Marriage must be between two otherwise unmarried people. (foreign divorces are generally recognised, but existing foreign polygamous
marriages prevent a marriage in Scotland as this would be treated as bigamy
).
Certain relatives are not allowed to marry. Under Scots law
, one may not marry one's:
Additionally, the following marriages are not allowed except under certain circumstances:
The list of proscribed affinities
was reduced in the early twentieth century by the Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907
, the Deceased Brother's Widow's Marriage Act 1921 and the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Relationship Act 1931.
Marriages can either be conducted by "authorised celebrants" (usually, but not always, a minister of religion) or by an "authorised Registrar".
Both parties to a marriage are required to independently submit marriage notice forms to the registrar of the district in which the marriage is to take place. In religious marriages a "Marriage Schedule" is completed by the parties involved and submitted to the local Register Office after the marriage so that it can be registered; the Marriage Schedule must be produced to the person performing the marriage otherwise it cannot take place. After the ceremony the Schedule is signed by the couple, their witnesses and the person performing the marriage. In civil marriages the Schedule is kept by the Registrar and signed after the ceremony. Unless specially authorised by the Registrar General, a minimum of 15 days notice must be given for a marriage but procedural requirements increase this for most marriages to 4–6 weeks to ensure that it can be determined that there is no impediment to the marriage. A list of forthcoming local marriages is displayed to the public at each Register Office.
, there were three forms of "irregular marriage" which can be summarised as the agreement of the couple to be married and some form of witnessing or evidence of such. An irregular marriage could result from mutual agreement, by a public promise followed by consummation, or by cohabitation and repute. All but the last of these were abolished by the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1939, from 1 January 1940. Prior to this act, any citizen was able to witness a public promise. The tradition of eloping English couples searching for blacksmiths resulted legally from the fact that blacksmiths were necessarily citizens and could often be recognised by strangers by their presence at their forge
.
A marriage by "cohabitation with repute" as it was known in Scots Law could still be formed; popularly described as "by habit and repute", with repute being the crucial element to be proved. In 2006, Scotland was the last European jurisdiction to abolish this old style common-law marriage or "marriage by cohabitation with repute", by the passing of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006.
, the first Scottish settlement on the main West Coast route from England; hence the term Gretna Green marriage for marriages transacted in a jurisdiction that was not the residence of the parties being married, to avoid restrictions or procedures imposed by the parties' home jurisdictions. Other Scottish Border villages used for these marriages were Coldstream Bridge
, Lamberton Toll (in Lamberton
, Berwickshire), Mordington
and Paxton Toll. Portpatrick
in Wigtown was used by couples from Ireland, because of the daily packet boat service to Donaghadee
.
Gretna's famous runaway marriages began in 1753 with the passing of Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act
in England
. The Act required consent to the marriage from the parents if a party to a marriage was not at least 21 years old. However in Scotland
it was possible for boys to get married at 14 years and girls at 12 years without parental consent. Some Gretna marriages were of (sometimes abducted) heiresses; e.g., the second marriage in 1826 of Edward Gibbon Wakefield
to the young heiress Ellen Turner, the Shrigley abduction
. Other motives for Gretna marriages were to avoid publicity or to marry immediately.
In 1856 Scottish law was changed to require 21 days' residence for marriage, and since 1929 both parties have had to be at least 16 years old (though there is still no parental consent needed). A further law change was made in 1940 to abolish these irregular marriages by declaration. The residential requirement was lifted in 1977.
Gretna Green remains as a favoured marriage location for marriage because of its romantic associations, with possibly one of every six Scottish weddings taking place at Gretna Green .
. Intestate property by default will go to the spouse. Also, there is partial inheritance of pensions.
Non-British spouses of British citizens may obtain residence permits.
Spouses are considered to have a duty of care
towards each other, and certain social security
benefits are calculated differently from those for single people.
(EEA), must apply for a visa before they travel. Without the visa the registrar will not be able to accept the notice of marriage and will not be able to perform the marriage ceremony.
If you are already in the UK, and you are a citizen of a country that is not a member of the EEA, you will need the approval of the Home Secretary
to be married. This will be provided in the form of a certificate of approval.
The Equal Marriage Campaign ran a Scottish Parliament petition which closed in September 2009 with over 1000 signatures.
Civil union
A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...
became available to same-sex couples in December 2005 and grant rights and responsibilities identical to civil marriage.
Eligibility
There are residency conditions that have to be met before people can be married. If one of the people wanting to marry is subject to immigration control, notice of marriage can only be done at a designated register office, which both parties must attend together.The marriageable age
Marriageable age
Marriageable age is the age at which a person is allowed to marry, either as of right or subject to parental or other forms of consent. The age and other requirements vary between countries, but generally it is set at 18, although most jurisdictions allow marriage at slightly younger ages with...
is 16. Marriage must be between two otherwise unmarried people. (foreign divorces are generally recognised, but existing foreign polygamous
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
marriages prevent a marriage in Scotland as this would be treated as bigamy
Bigamy
In cultures that practice marital monogamy, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. Bigamy is a crime in most western countries, and when it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other...
).
Certain relatives are not allowed to marry. Under Scots law
Scots law
Scots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is considered a hybrid or mixed legal system as it traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. With English law and Northern Irish law it forms the legal system of the United Kingdom; it shares with the two other systems some...
, one may not marry one's:
- ancestorAncestorAn ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
or descendantKinshipKinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections.... - siblingSiblingSiblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
- aunt/uncle or nephew/niece
- adoptive parent
- adopted child
Additionally, the following marriages are not allowed except under certain circumstances:
- former spouse's descendant or ancestor
- ancestor or descendants's former spouse
The list of proscribed affinities
Affinity (law)
In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity, as distinguished from consanguinity, is kinship by marriage. It is the relation which each party to a marriage bears to the kindred of the other. In English, affinity is usually signified by adding "-in-law" to the degree of kinship...
was reduced in the early twentieth century by the Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907
Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907
The Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, allowing a man, if his wife had died, to marry her sister.Previously, it was forbidden for a man to marry the sister of his deceased wife...
, the Deceased Brother's Widow's Marriage Act 1921 and the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Relationship Act 1931.
Marriage procedures
The Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 is the main current legislation regulating marriage. The Marriage (Scotland) Act 2002 extends the availability of civil marriages to "approved places" in addition to Register Offices and any other place used in exceptional circumstances; religious marriages in Scotland have never been restricted by location.Marriages can either be conducted by "authorised celebrants" (usually, but not always, a minister of religion) or by an "authorised Registrar".
Both parties to a marriage are required to independently submit marriage notice forms to the registrar of the district in which the marriage is to take place. In religious marriages a "Marriage Schedule" is completed by the parties involved and submitted to the local Register Office after the marriage so that it can be registered; the Marriage Schedule must be produced to the person performing the marriage otherwise it cannot take place. After the ceremony the Schedule is signed by the couple, their witnesses and the person performing the marriage. In civil marriages the Schedule is kept by the Registrar and signed after the ceremony. Unless specially authorised by the Registrar General, a minimum of 15 days notice must be given for a marriage but procedural requirements increase this for most marriages to 4–6 weeks to ensure that it can be determined that there is no impediment to the marriage. A list of forthcoming local marriages is displayed to the public at each Register Office.
Irregular and common-law marriages
Under earlier Scots lawScots law
Scots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is considered a hybrid or mixed legal system as it traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. With English law and Northern Irish law it forms the legal system of the United Kingdom; it shares with the two other systems some...
, there were three forms of "irregular marriage" which can be summarised as the agreement of the couple to be married and some form of witnessing or evidence of such. An irregular marriage could result from mutual agreement, by a public promise followed by consummation, or by cohabitation and repute. All but the last of these were abolished by the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1939, from 1 January 1940. Prior to this act, any citizen was able to witness a public promise. The tradition of eloping English couples searching for blacksmiths resulted legally from the fact that blacksmiths were necessarily citizens and could often be recognised by strangers by their presence at their forge
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...
.
A marriage by "cohabitation with repute" as it was known in Scots Law could still be formed; popularly described as "by habit and repute", with repute being the crucial element to be proved. In 2006, Scotland was the last European jurisdiction to abolish this old style common-law marriage or "marriage by cohabitation with repute", by the passing of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006.
Border marriages
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, marriage laws in Scotland encouraged the practice of couples wishing to marry eloping from England to Scotland. With transport less developed, many of these marriages were at Gretna GreenGretna Green
Gretna Green is a village in the south of Scotland famous for runaway weddings. It is in Dumfries and Galloway, near the mouth of the River Esk and was historically the first village in Scotland, following the old coaching route from London to Edinburgh. Gretna Green has a railway station serving...
, the first Scottish settlement on the main West Coast route from England; hence the term Gretna Green marriage for marriages transacted in a jurisdiction that was not the residence of the parties being married, to avoid restrictions or procedures imposed by the parties' home jurisdictions. Other Scottish Border villages used for these marriages were Coldstream Bridge
Coldstream Bridge
Coldstream Bridge, linking Coldstream, Scottish Borders with Cornhill-on-Tweed, Northumberland, is an 18th century Grade II* listed bridge between England and Scotland, across the River Tweed. A plaque on the bridge commemorates the 1787 visit of the poet Robert Burns to the Coldstream...
, Lamberton Toll (in Lamberton
Lamberton, Borders, Scotland
Lamberton is a hilly, former landed estate in Berwickshire, Scotland, its eastern boundary being the North Sea. It is north of Berwick-upon-Tweed, on the Great North Road .-Original family:...
, Berwickshire), Mordington
Mordington
Mordington is an agricultural parish in the extreme south-east of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders region. It is five miles from Berwick-upon-Tweed and borders Northumberland to the east, and south , Foulden to the west, and Lamberton to the north. The parish is bisected by the A6105 Berwick to...
and Paxton Toll. Portpatrick
Portpatrick
Portpatrick is a village hanging on to the extreme south-westerly tip of mainland Scotland, cut into a cleft in steep cliffs.Dating back historically some 500 years, and built adjacent to the ruins of nearby Dunskey Castle, its position on the Rhins of Galloway affords visitors views of the...
in Wigtown was used by couples from Ireland, because of the daily packet boat service to Donaghadee
Donaghadee
Donaghadee is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles south east of Bangor. It had a population of 6,470 people in the 2001 Census...
.
Gretna's famous runaway marriages began in 1753 with the passing of Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act
Marriage Act 1753
The Marriage Act 1753, full title "An Act for the Better Preventing of Clandestine Marriage", popularly known as Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act , was the first statutory legislation in England and Wales to require a formal ceremony of marriage. It came into force on 25 March 1754...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The Act required consent to the marriage from the parents if a party to a marriage was not at least 21 years old. However in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
it was possible for boys to get married at 14 years and girls at 12 years without parental consent. Some Gretna marriages were of (sometimes abducted) heiresses; e.g., the second marriage in 1826 of Edward Gibbon Wakefield
Edward Gibbon Wakefield
Edward Gibbon Wakefield was a British politician, the driving force behind much of the early colonisation of South Australia, and later New Zealand....
to the young heiress Ellen Turner, the Shrigley abduction
Shrigley Abduction
The Shrigley abduction was an 1827 British case of a forced marriage by Edward Gibbon Wakefield to the 15-year-old heiress Ellen Turner of Pott Shrigley. The couple were married in Gretna Green, Scotland and traveled to Calais before Turner's father was able to notify the police and intervene...
. Other motives for Gretna marriages were to avoid publicity or to marry immediately.
In 1856 Scottish law was changed to require 21 days' residence for marriage, and since 1929 both parties have had to be at least 16 years old (though there is still no parental consent needed). A further law change was made in 1940 to abolish these irregular marriages by declaration. The residential requirement was lifted in 1977.
Gretna Green remains as a favoured marriage location for marriage because of its romantic associations, with possibly one of every six Scottish weddings taking place at Gretna Green .
Benefits and consequences
Upon death of one's spouse, bequests to the other spouse do not incur inheritance taxInheritance tax
An inheritance tax or estate tax is a levy paid by a person who inherits money or property or a tax on the estate of a person who has died...
. Intestate property by default will go to the spouse. Also, there is partial inheritance of pensions.
Non-British spouses of British citizens may obtain residence permits.
Spouses are considered to have a duty of care
Duty of care
In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation imposed on an individual requiring that they adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. It is the first element that must be established to proceed with an action in negligence. The claimant...
towards each other, and certain social security
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
benefits are calculated differently from those for single people.
Foreign citizens wishing to marry in the UK
From 1 February 2005, visitors who wish to be married in the UK that are a citizen of a country that is not a member of the European Economic AreaEuropean Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
(EEA), must apply for a visa before they travel. Without the visa the registrar will not be able to accept the notice of marriage and will not be able to perform the marriage ceremony.
If you are already in the UK, and you are a citizen of a country that is not a member of the EEA, you will need the approval of the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
to be married. This will be provided in the form of a certificate of approval.
Divorce
Divorce is allowed under certain circumstances as is civil re-marriage, though different religions and denominations differ on whether they permit religious re-marriage.The Equal Marriage Campaign
In March 2009 the Equal Marriage Campaign was established by the NUS LGBT Scotland Campaign and is calling on the Scottish Parliament to amend legislation to allow same-sex marriage and mixed-sex civil partnership in Scotland with the support of policians, organisations and individuals across Scotland and beyond.The Equal Marriage Campaign ran a Scottish Parliament petition which closed in September 2009 with over 1000 signatures.