Barlow’s Cohabitants and the Law, 4th edition by David Josiah-Lake (1/6)

As one would expect, there have been enormous (and hugely progressive) advances in the area of family law since the last edition of Barlow’s Cohabitants and the Law which was published in 2001.  Ever growing acceptance of and legal recognition for same sex relationships has seen the passing of both the Civil Partnership Act 2004 enabling same sex couples to register as civil partners (with rights akin to marriage) which came into effect on 5 December 2005 and the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 which came into force on 13 March 2014.

As civil partners and same sex spouses have been accorded the same rights as opposite sex spouses, the focus on the lack of such rights afforded to all cohabitants (whether heterosexual or homosexual) is more acute.

The purpose of Barlow’s Cohabitants and the Law 4^th edition is to draw together the disparate areas of law affecting cohabitants and to highlight the progress made and the progress yet to be made in this increasingly important area.

In Part I (chapters 1 to 6) David examines the law which affects cohabitants/the “unmarried family” when living together as a unit and in Part II (chapters 7 to 11) David deals with the impact of relationship breakdown.

To discuss any aspect of the law as it relates to cohabitants do contact David Josiah-Lake  at david@j-lg.com