Family Law Consultation Officially Closed On 14 August 2026: How Could It Change The Rights Of Married And Civilly Partnered Couples?

The consultation could produce radical change for cohabiting couples. It might do the same for their married and civilly partnered counterparts.

On 5 June 2026, the government opened a consultation titled A fairer end to relationships. It contains major proposals for changing family law, and it has closed on 14 August 2026.

Our Dispute Resolution colleague, Declan Storrar, has already given a useful overview of what the consultation could mean for cohabitants, which you can read here.

Below, we discuss the proposals around financial remedies for married and civilly partnered couples, which have perhaps received less attention.

Codification of existing case law

First, the government have proposed to codify and, in some cases, build on the case law that has accrued on top of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 in the 53 years since it was passed.

The government’s proposals include:

• Codification of the objective of achieving a “fair” outcome on divorce for courts to follow.
• Codification of the “needs” and “sharing” principles to guide courts on what a fair outcome looks like.
• Considering needs in a three-tier structure: firstly, the needs of any children; secondly, the divorcing couple’s essential requirements, for example housing, income and pension needs, so far as resources allow and with reference to the lifestyle enjoyed during the marriage; and thirdly, any discretionary needs, which might include luxury items such as expensive cars or designer clothing.
• Express recognition of compensation as an additional principle in financial remedies proceedings. Compared to needs and sharing, there is less authority directing courts to consider compensation in their approach, so this may represent a more substantive change in the law.
• Codification of the distinction between matrimonial and non-matrimonial property.
• Codification of the understanding that a seamless period of cohabitation should in effect extend the length of the marriage for financial remedies purposes.
• Technical changes related to how courts consider pensions.

The government consultation also asks a series of questions related to whether domestic abuse should be more expressly recognised when determining financial remedies. As it stands, such conduct will only be considered in narrow circumstances. While the consultation proposes a move away from the “gasp” factor test for such misconduct, the government does not make firm proposals for its replacement.

Qualifying nuptial agreements

As it stands, nuptial agreements in England & Wales are not legally binding. However, following the 2014 Supreme Court case of Radmacher v Granatino, courts should follow such agreements when they are broadly fair and entered without coercion or undue influence, and with the benefit of legal advice. The Law Commission’s 2014 report Matrimonial Property, Needs and Agreements (which contained previous reform proposals) provides further guidance on best practice to family lawyers.

The government proposes to shift the position by making “qualifying” nuptial agreements binding, provided they conform to the following safeguards:

• Contract Validity: the agreement must be a valid contract without, for example, undue influence or misrepresentation.
• Execution as Deed: the agreement must have been made by deed and must contain a statement signed by both parties that they understand the agreement is a qualifying nuptial agreement that will partially remove the court’s discretion to make financial orders.

• 28-Day Period: the agreement must not have been made within the 28 days immediately before the wedding or the celebration of civil partnership.
• Material Financial Disclosure: each party to the agreement must have received, at the time of making of it, disclosure of material information about the other party’s financial situation.
• Independent Legal Advice: each party must obtain independent legal advice for signing the nuptial agreement, to ensure each understands the legal effect and consequences of the agreement.

These safeguards would be mandatory; a party could not, for example, waive their right to independent legal advice.

Notably, the proposals do not contain a fairness test, a significant move away from Radmacher. However, the government proposes that it should not be possible for a couple to use a qualifying nuptial agreement to contract out of providing for each other’s needs or for those of their children. However, they could contract out of providing for each other’s discretionary needs.

Our thoughts on these changes

The government’s “codification-plus” model for reforming financial remedies will involve a relatively low level of change to the substantive law. Nevertheless, it is welcome that couples will be able to find their rights in an easily located statute rather than scattered across several decades of complex case law.

How the intersection of financial remedies and domestic abuse might change is more uncertain. As the consultation raises (echoing a 2024 Law Commission report on this issue), a more express role for domestic abuse in financial remedies proceedings may increase the cost and complexity of litigation. However, it is difficult to defend the status quo, where victim-survivors are very unlikely to have their experiences recognised in any financial settlement.

Finally, the reforms to qualifying nuptial agreements may provide a welcome level of certainty and autonomy for couples starting their joint lives together. However, the lack of an express fairness test, as indicated by Radmacher, may be controversial. Nevertheless, the inability of couples to contract out of providing for needs other than discretionary needs may curb the potential for unfair nuptial agreements in any event.

Next steps

It will be some time until we know whether these reforms will go ahead. In the meantime, if you are at the start or the end of your joint life with your spouse or civil partner, our expert family solicitors would be pleased to assist.

If you would like advice on how proposed changes to family law could affect you, our Family Law team can assist. Contact us today on 0330 822 3451, or request a callback.