Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter
Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter
Mixed-sex couples entering into civil partnerships may be told to re-register their children otherwise risk them being rendered “illegitimate”, thus limiting their inheritance rights.
Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan are among thousands of couples to become civil partners on Tuesday, the first chance to do so following the approval of a second legislation in the House of Commons to make civil partnerships accessible for heterosexual couples.
Steinfeld and Keidan spearheaded the change in law after they were refused permission to have a civil partnership in light of their views of marriage as a patriarchal institution.
But ahead of the ceremony, due to take place at Chelsea Register Office, the couple’s celebrations were tainted after they were told by an official they would need to re-register their children, The Telegraph reports.
Pride Power Couples Top 10 List 2019
Show all 10
The couple were told that due to a clause in the 1976 Legitimacy Act, they would be fined £2 if they did not re-register their existing children, who would also have less inheritance rights than any future offspring.
Ms Steinfeld, 38, told The Telegraph that the law “stigmatises” the children of couples in mixed-sex civil partnerships.
“The difference between marriage and civil partnership is that civil partnership is a modern social institution that is, except for this aspect, free of all of this old school patriarchal baggage.
“There is no place for something like this within civil partnerships. It stigmatises children based on their parents’ relationship status – and that just seems so anachronistic.”
The couple have said they will not be re-registering their children “on principle”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies