Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010
The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 allows for same-sex couples to enter a civil partnership on the same terms as married couples. Civil partners must wait 2 years to get their partnership dissolved. Judicial separation is not allowed. Civil partners are not allowed to adopt jointly though one civil partner may adopt singly. Also civil partners cannot have joint guardianship over any children they raise together. The act provides for the of succession of property, pension entitlements, domestic violence, and maintenance in the event of a breakdown of a relationship. The social welfare benefits and the tax entitlements of civil partners are dealt with in other pieces of legislation (see below). The act makes provision for recognition of foreign relationships in Ireland as civil partnerships. The act does not deal with residency of same-sex couples that wish to become civil partnered in Ireland.
The act also provides for legal recognition of cohabiting couples (both opposite-sex and same-sex) where they have been together for 5 years or 2 years if they have children. Cohabiting couples will be able to enter into a written contract where they can arrange their affairs on finance and property and these contracts will have the force of law. Where a cohabitation relationship ends on breakdown or on death one or both of the cohabitants will be able to apply to court to get a maintenance order, property adjustment order, pension adjustment order and other such orders that married couples can get when they are separating or divorcing, provided that the person bringing the case is or was economically dependant on the other cohabitant. It took legal effect on 1 January 2011. The first public civil partnerships took place in April 2011.
Read more about this topic: List Of Laws And Reports On LGBT Rights In Ireland
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