Commentary Part 1 – Marriage Overview
5.This Chapter makes a number of changes to marriage law. In particular, it amends the 1977 Act, in relation to the “forbidden degrees” (about people who are too closely related to each other to get married) to reflect the introduction of same sex marriage; it deals with existing references to marriage and related expressions in legislation and private documents, such as wills; and it clarifies how certain common law rules will operate in the context of a same sex marriage.