United Kingdom
UK Family Law: Divorce, Child Maintenance & Rights
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited September 29, 2026). · Law checked current as of September 29, 2026. · 11 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
Family law in the United Kingdom is a mix. Child maintenance works the same way across England, Wales and Scotland through the Child Maintenance Service, but divorce and the rights of unmarried couples differ by nation. England and Wales have no-fault divorce, Scotland uses separation grounds, and Northern Ireland has not introduced no-fault divorce.
Information last verified on 18 July 2026. This hub presents general legal information, not legal advice.
Jurisdiction scope: This hub covers family law across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and signposts which nation's rules apply. It is general information, not advice on your own separation, divorce or child arrangements. For help, contact Citizens Advice, Gingerbread (single parents), Child Maintenance Options, or a family solicitor.
How UK family law is structured
Family law is partly the same across the UK and partly devolved, so the right answer depends on the topic. Child maintenance is run on a Great Britain-wide basis by the Child Maintenance Service, so the calculation is the same in England, Wales and Scotland; Northern Ireland runs its own Child Maintenance Service under the Department for Communities with near-identical rules. Divorce is devolved and genuinely different in each nation. The rights of unmarried couples are also devolved, and Scotland gives cohabitants more than the rest of the UK.
Two things are true everywhere. First, the welfare of any children is the court's paramount concern in decisions about them. Second, there is no such thing as "common law marriage" anywhere in the UK: a couple do not acquire marriage-like rights simply by living together, no matter how long. Scotland once recognised marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute, but the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 abolished it for couples who began living together on or after 4 May 2006. It can still apply where the cohabitation began before that date, and in one narrow case involving an invalid marriage abroad.
Child maintenance
The Child Maintenance Service calculates maintenance as a percentage of the paying parent's gross weekly income, adjusted for the number of children, any other children in their household, and shared care. It applies across Great Britain, with Northern Ireland running its own equivalent service.
- Child maintenance (CMS): how much you pay or get and how it works, the rates, gross income, worked examples across the income bands, and Direct Pay versus Collect and Pay
Use our free UK Child Maintenance calculator to estimate the weekly amount. It mirrors the CMS formula; the CMS makes the binding calculation.
Divorce by nation
Divorce is where the four nations differ most, so start with the guide for where you live.
- No-fault divorce explained, what changed in 2022 and how the nations compare
- Divorce process in England and Wales, the 20-week and 6-week stages
- Divorce in Scotland, separation grounds and the simplified procedure
Northern Ireland has not introduced no-fault divorce; it still relies on fault or a period of separation, and a couple must have been married two years before applying.
Changing your name
Name changes sit alongside family law because most of them happen at marriage or divorce. The deed poll guide covers the England and Wales process, enrolled and unenrolled, and what it costs. If you are marrying or divorcing, you may not need a deed poll at all; the name change after marriage or divorce guide explains what evidence each agency actually accepts. The documents guide walks through updating your passport, driving licence, HMRC and the rest, and changing your name in Scotland covers the separate National Records of Scotland route and Northern Ireland.
Money, property and agreements
- Financial settlement on divorce, the section 25 factors (England and Wales) and fair sharing (Scotland)
- Prenuptial agreements, not automatically binding but given weight after Radmacher
Children
- Parental responsibility, who has it and how it is acquired
- Child arrangements orders, who a child lives with and spends time with
- Grandparents' rights, how a grandparent applies for contact
Living together without marrying
Unmarried couples have far fewer rights than married couples or civil partners, and the gap is widest in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Reform has been proposed on both sides of the border. The UK Government's consultation "A fairer end to relationships", covering cohabitants in England and Wales, ran from 5 June to 14 August 2026, and the Scottish Government's family law consultation, which included cohabitants' rights under the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006, closed on 21 April 2026. A consultation does not change the law: the current rules apply unless and until new legislation is passed and brought into force.
- Cohabiting couples' rights, what protects you and where Scotland differs
- Common law marriage: the myth, why living together gives you no automatic rights
- Cohabitation agreements, making one that holds up, and Scotland's strict one-year claim deadline
Frequently asked questions
More UK family law guides
- Civil Partnership UK: Who Can Form One and How Dissolution Differs From Divorce
- Domestic Abuse Protection Order (DAPO) UK: Pilot Areas and Current Status by Nation
- Non-Molestation and Occupation Orders UK: How to Apply Using Form FL401
- Special Guardianship Order UK: Who Can Apply and How It Differs From Adoption
- Surrogacy Law UK: What Is Legal, Parental Orders and the Six Month Deadline
This hub is general legal information about family law in the United Kingdom, verified on 18 July 2026. It is not legal advice, and how the law applies depends on your circumstances and the nation you live in. For advice, contact Citizens Advice, Gingerbread, Rights of Women, or a family solicitor. For related guides, see the United Kingdom law hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is child maintenance the same across the UK?
The calculation is the same in England, Wales and Scotland, run by the Child Maintenance Service using a percentage of the paying parent's gross weekly income. Northern Ireland has its own Child Maintenance Service under the Department for Communities, with near-identical rules.
Is divorce no-fault everywhere in the UK?
No. England and Wales introduced no-fault divorce on 6 April 2022. Scotland uses separation-based grounds (one year with consent or two years without) as well as fault grounds. Northern Ireland has not introduced no-fault divorce: you must prove adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion, or two years' separation with consent or five years' separation, and you cannot apply in the first two years of marriage.
Do unmarried couples have legal rights if they split up?
Very limited ones. There is no common law marriage anywhere in the UK, and Scotland's old marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute was abolished for couples who began living together on or after 4 May 2006. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, cohabitants rely on property law and claims for children. Scotland gives cohabitants limited statutory rights under the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006.
How is a divorce financial settlement decided?
In England and Wales there is no fixed formula; the court weighs the factors in section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, with any children's welfare first. Scotland uses fair sharing of matrimonial property. A settlement should be made binding by a court order.
Does a father automatically have parental responsibility?
The birth mother always has it. In England and Wales a father has it if he was married to the mother, is named on the birth certificate (for births registered from 1 December 2003), or gets an agreement or court order. Scotland has similar rules under its own 1995 Act.
Does this website give family law advice or referrals?
No. These pages are general legal information, not advice, and we do not run lawyer referrals. For help, contact Citizens Advice, Gingerbread, Child Maintenance Options, or a family solicitor.
Updates
Clarified that an unmarried partner of two years in England, Wales or Northern Ireland can ask the court for reasonable financial provision from the estate after a partner dies.
We explained that Scotland abolished marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute for couples who began living together on or after 4 May 2006, set out Northern Ireland's divorce grounds accurately, and noted the 2026 cohabitation reform consultations in England and Wales and in Scotland, which have not changed the law.
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes
England and Wales introduced no-fault divorce under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020. Spouses no longer have to prove fault or blame, and a divorce cannot be contested on the basis of the breakdown.
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
Matrimonial Causes Act 1973
s. 25Matters to which court is to have regard in deciding how to exercise its powers under ss. 23, 24 , 24A, 24B and 24E .In forcecited in 2 of our articles
(1) It shall be the duty of the court in deciding whether to exercise its powers under section 23, 24 , 24A , 24B or 24E above and, if so, in what manner, to have regard to all the circumstances of the case, first consideration being given to the welfare while a minor of any child of the family who has not attained the age of eighteen. (2) As regards the exercise of the powers of the court under section 23(1)(a), (b) or (c), 24 , 24A , 24B or 24E above in relation to a party to the marriage, the court shall in particular have regard to the following matters— (a) the income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources which each of the parties to the marriage has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future, including in the case of earning capacity any increase in that capacity which it would in the opinion of the court be reasonable to expect a party to the marriage to take steps to acquire; (b) the financial needs, obligations and responsibilities which each of the parties to the marriage has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future; (c) the standard of living enjoyed by the family before the breakdown of the marriage;
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-08-14 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at legislation.gov.uk
Also relied on in: Financial Settlement on Divorce (England & Wales)
Search our record of UK legislation — retrieved from legislation.gov.uk →
Sources and References
- GOV.UK: How the Child Maintenance Service works out child maintenance(gov.uk).gov
- Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020(legislation.gov.uk).gov
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, section 25(legislation.gov.uk).gov
- Children Act 1989(legislation.gov.uk).gov
- Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006(legislation.gov.uk).gov
- Divorce (Scotland) Act 1976(legislation.gov.uk).gov
- GOV.UK: Get a divorce(gov.uk).gov
- Gingerbread: help for single parents(gingerbread.org.uk)
- Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006, section 3 (abolition of marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute)(legislation.gov.uk).gov
- nidirect: Getting a divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership(nidirect.gov.uk).gov
- GOV.UK: A fairer end to relationships (consultation, 5 June to 14 August 2026)(gov.uk).gov
- Scottish Government: Family law consultation (closed 21 April 2026)(gov.scot).gov