12.—(1) The Legitimacy Act 1976(1) is amended as follows.
(2) Before section 1(2) insert—
A1.—(1) A child is legitimate by virtue of a civil partnership between the natural parents of the child if, had the civil partnership been a marriage (and all other circumstances were the same), the child would have been legitimate at common law by virtue of the marriage.
(2) The presumption of common law that a child born to a woman during her marriage to a man is also the natural child of her spouse applies equally in relation to a child born to a woman during her civil partnership with a man.”.
(3) In section 1—
(a)in the heading, “after “void marriages” insert “and civil partnerships”;
(b)in subsection (1)—
(i)after “void marriage” insert “or a void civil partnership”;
(ii)after “celebration of the marriage” insert “, or the formation of the civil partnership,”;
(iii)after “that the marriage” insert “or civil partnership”;
(c)in subsection (3), after “marriage” insert “or civil partnership”;
(d)in subsection (4)—
(i)after “a child” insert “of a void marriage”;
(ii)after “Family Law Reform Act 1987,” insert “or a child of a void civil partnership (whenever born),”;
(iii)after “void marriage” insert “or civil partnership”;
(iv)after “celebration of the marriage” insert “, or the formation of the civil partnership,”;
(v)after “that the marriage” insert “or civil partnership”.
(4) In section 2(3)—
(a)in the heading, after “marriage” insert “or civil partnership”;
(b)after “marry” insert “or become civil partners of”;
(c)after “marriage”, in the first place it occurs (after the heading), insert “or civil partnership”;
(d)after “date of marriage” insert “or the date of the formation of the civil partnership”;
(e)for “date of the marriage” substitute “that date”.
(5) In section 3(4), in subsection (1)—
(a)after “marry” insert “or become civil partners of”;
(b)after “marriage”, in each place it occurs, insert “or civil partnership”.
(6) In Schedule 1—
(a)in paragraph 4, after sub-paragraph (3) insert—
“(4) Section 1 does not affect any matter referred to in sub-paragraph (2) or (3) so far as it applies to a child of a void civil partnership.”;
(b)after paragraph 5 insert—
“5A. Nothing in this Act, except for section 2A, legitimates a person born before the date on which the Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) Regulations 2019 came into force by virtue of a civil partnership formed by the person’s parents before that date.”.
Section 1 was amended by the Family Law Reform Act 1987 (c. 42), sections 28 and 34; and S.I. 2014/560, 3168.
Section 2 was amended by S.I. 2014/560.
Section 3 was amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (c. 22), Schedule 6, paragraph 17 and S.I. 2014/560.