My religious marriage is not legally recognised - what problems could I face?

The fact that many religious marriages - such as Muslim, Sikh and Hindu wedding ceremonies - are not legally recognised in the UK has been a source of concern for many people.

This is because a couple who are married religiously, but not legally, do not have the same rights and status under the law as those whose marriage is legally recognised. In the eyes of the law, such couples are treated as other ‘unmarried’ couples, as their religious wedding ceremony would not have conferred any legal title or benefits.

Couples who are not legally married may face the following problems:

• Lack of financial remedies upon divorce
• No matrimonial home rights
• No automatic parental responsibility for a father (if not on the birth certificate)
• Lack of inheritance rights
• Lack of tax benefits

Of key importance to couples who may not be legally married but are seeking a ‘divorce’, is the lack of financial remedies and matrimonial home rights for unmarried couples. This places the financially weaker party, often the woman, in a vulnerable position as they will have no recourse to assets held in their partner’s sole name or spousal maintenance. If the couple’s home is owned solely by one party, the other party will have no ‘matrimonial home rights’ to remain living in the property.

If you are considering or going through a divorce and are concerned about the legal status of your religious marriage, contact Vardags today for a free initial consultation with one of our expert divorce solicitors.

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For some people who have separated from their partner whom they were only married to religiously, they may have some legal recourse under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA). This does not provide the same financial remedies available upon divorce but allows parties to assert a beneficial interest in a property that they have financially contributed to. For example:

• A marries B in a religious ceremony which isn’t legally recognised as a valid marriage
• A moves into B’s house, which is in B’s sole name
• Over 10 years, A contributes to the mortgage payments of the home
• A and B separate, but cannot seek a divorce or a financial remedy order as their marriage isn’t legally recognised
• A can bring a legal claim under TOLATA to assert their beneficial interest in the property, even though it is legally owned by B
• The court can then determine who should occupy the property, the nature and extent of ownership of that property, and whether an order for sale should be made to allocate shares of the proceeds to A and B

However, seeking a remedy this way is far less straightforward than seeking a financial remedy upon divorce under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. It is difficult for unmarried partners to prove their contributions, expensive to pursue, and the courts are reluctant to interfere with people’s property rights in this way. Each case will be determined on its own facts, but the starting point of the court will be to determine the parties’ intention – essentially, did they intend for the property to be kept separate, or shared between them.

Where a couple have children together, the law regarding child maintenance and child arrangement orders is the same regardless of whether the couple are married or not. Therefore, even if you are not legally married, if your child primarily lives with you, you will be entitled to the same amount of child maintenance as you would if you were married. There is also the potential for what is known as a ‘Schedule 1’ claim where an unmarried couple have children together.

Given that the UK is a multicultural and diverse country, the current state of the law regarding marriage is surprising to many. Calls for reform have grown in recent years, particularly as high-profile cases such as Akhter v Khan have highlighted the lack of legal recognition for religious ceremonies.

Worryingly, research has shown that many people in the UK wrongly believe that their religious ceremony is legally recognised. For example, a 2017 survey for Channel 4’s documentary ‘The Truth About Muslim Marriage’ found that 61% of women had a Nikah ceremony but were not in legally recognised marriages. 28% of these women had not realised that their Nikah did not give them the same legal rights and protections under UK law as a legally recognised marriage.

According to the 2021 census, there are around 3.9 million Muslims in the UK, over 1 million Hindus, over 500,000 Sikhs, and just under 290,000 Buddhists. Therefore, a significant proportion of the population is currently affected by the current state of marriage law.