The law is only an issue when significant property, like a house or a car, is involved. What's more, as I said, if you don't want to share equally you can opt out by signing a contract. While each partner needs independent legal advice for it to hold, the bill provides for a kind of blueprint agreement that will mean most contracts are very cheap or even free, if done through community law centres and Citizens Advice Bureaux. This agreement can be entered into at any time during the relationship. Some people have said that the bill devalues the sanctity of marriage.
Sanctity is from another source entirely.
The bill makes no difference to the legal status of marriage. That is defined in the Marriage Act and this bill does not affect that. Married couples will be covered by the Marriage Act and their own vows. The bill does give extra protection for them because the equal property sharing regime applies from the first day of the marriage, not after three years as in the case of de facto relationships. Basically, once you get past all the bollocks, I just think that a law that says that if you break up you should divide your stuff evenly, unless there are good reasons for not doing that or unless you have already agreed to do something else, is pretty basic justice.