Marriage is an important event in our life. If you are a heterosexual couple, you can get married anytime. They don’t have to face any complexity. Because most of the government allows weddings among heterosexual couples. However, same-sex marriage came into force in the UK in 2014. But some parts like Northern Ireland are not allowing same-sex marriage yet. The authority of Northern Ireland considers this type of legal bonding as a civil partnership. So, knowing all the differences between marriage and civil partnership is important.
Difference between Marriage and Civil Partnership
If you are a heterosexual couple, you just have to give formal notice to their local register office to arrange your marriage ceremony. But a same-sex couple has to complete the marriage event in civil ceremonies. Same-sex couples can only arrange the special event in religious ceremonies when the religious organization approves same-sex wedding. However, the Church of England and the Church in Wales don’t allow this type of occasion.
There are some other different aspects of civil partnerships when compared to marriage. For example; civil partners cannot use the term “married” for legal purposes. You can end your marriage with divorce. But if you are in a civil partnership, you have to end this legal relationship by obtaining a dissolution order. A married couple can use “Adultery” as a reason for getting a divorce. But you cannot use it as a valid reason to dissolve a civil partnership.
Similarities between civil partnership and marriage
People aged 16 or above can get married. But the civil partnership is a little bit complicated. Civil partnership is a way to provide the same legal rights to the sax-sex couple as other married couples. In both cases, the couple is committing to spending their life with their partner. Except for legal purposes, there are not many differences between a wedding and a civil partnership. Couples can live together and spend their happy moments together.
Conversion of a civil partnership into a marriage
If you are living in the UK, you can convert your civil partnership into a legal marriage. To do so, you need to apply at a registered office in England and Wales. local registration offices or religious or approved premises are responsible to complete the process of converting the civil partnerships into marriages.