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xFamily Law Consultation
Date: 20th January 2026
Category:
Awareness-raising, Best interests of the child
Closing Date: 21st April 2026
Scottish Government opened a consultation looking for insights on various issues surrounding Family Law, including raising the minimum age for marriage and civil partnership from 16 to 18.
The Family Law Consultation seeks to gain insight on the following topics:
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Implementing the Scottish Law Commission's recommendations to improve cohabitants' rights following separation
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Cohabitant's rights where their partner dies without leaving a will
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Whether the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership should be raised from 16 to 18 and on extending the criminal offence of forced marriage or forced civil partnership
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Extending the simplified divorce and dissolution procedures in Scotland to include cases where there are children under 16 and no dispute about their welfare
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On whether there should be qualifying requirements for religious and belief bodies with celebrants who solemnise marriages and register civil partnerships.
In 2022, England and Wales raised the minimum age for marriage and civil partnership from 16 to 18. Following this, the Scottish Government previously aimed to open a consultation on the raising the minimum age in 2024 and has now included this issue in the Family Law Consultation.
Raising the minimum age for marriage and civil partnership to 18, would respond to ongoing concerns that child marriages remain a harmful practice, and that the lower age puts children and young children at risk of being exploited and forced into marriage. The call to raise the minimum age was also included in the 2023 Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
This consultation is open to everyone, and given its scope, people are encouraged to answer on those sections that matter to them. There is no expectation to fill in every section of this consultation.
If members wish to share any information or views to inform Together’s response to this consultation, please email info@togetherscotland.org.uk with the subject “Family Law Consultation”.
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Access the Consultation here.
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Read Together’s article on raising the minimum age for marriage here.