Marriage was traditionally only available to mixed-sex couples in Scotland. It was not until December 2005 that the enactment of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 enabled same-sex couples to form a civil partnership. This provided same-sex couples with similar rights and responsibilities as those afforded to mixed-sex married couple. The Scottish Government continued to make progressive changes, as demonstrated by the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 which introduced same-sex marriage.
However, this consequently established an inconsistency in the law whereby marriage and civil partnership was available to same-sex couples, but mixed-sex couples were restricted to marriage. As such, the law once again did not provide for all couples to have the same choices when deciding on a legally recognised relationship.
The Scottish Government recognised this anomaly and consulted extensively on the matter. As a result, The Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 23 June 2020 and received Royal Assent on 28 July 2020. Following the enactment of this legislation, from 1 June 2021 mixed-sex couples can register a notice of intention to enter into a civil partnership. Therefore, following the 29-day notice period, the first mixed-sex civil partnerships could take place from as early as 30 June 2021.
There are only minor differences between marriage and civil partnership. The rights available to a married couple and civil partners are identical and therefore the decision to marry or form a civil partnership will now be a matter of personal choice for all couples.
Similar to those contemplating marriage, couples considering registering a civil partnership should think about entering into a Pre-Nuptial Agreement. Such agreements can "ringfence" assets that are to be brought into the civil partnership or marriage, allow you to select and control many of the legal rights that you acquire upon forming a civil partnership or marrying, and manage what happens if a civil partnership ends by dissolution or a marriage ends by divorce. A Will can stipulate what is to happen on death.